Beyond the Sky
by KalGal
Summary: The year is 4018. A deadly virus has taken root in the heart of humanity and is spreading around the globe in a matter of days. To protect the future generations, the Seven Citadels were constructed, able to hold the virus at bay. Follow Rukia as she breaks a madman from a cell, fights monstrous creatures and looks beyond the pixilated sky, to the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Lord of the Rings.**

_This is Yukiko's Video Log 6. June 5, 4018._

The virus known to the world as Mortem Dolor has reached Asia. All communication has been lost with the surround cities. The United States is in an uproar, Chicago has been confirmed with a total of around 2,406,900 confirmed dead and more being rushed into the hospitals as I record this. Los Angeles is rioting and police are starting to take physical actions. Bodies are said to line the streets. We grow closer to fix but ever farther from a cure.

_Log Number 7. June 12, 4018_

Production has started on metals able to resist the fusing of nitrogen, which was found to be the main feeding source for the micro bacterial organisms that are spreading the virus. We discovered the virus was caught by inhaling it but all attempts at making masks seems pointless. The army has taken control of the government, people grow more and more scared as we lose signals from Australia and parts of Europe. The British Prime Minister was caught trying to flee on his private boat. He was killed before he could be brought to court by the masses lining the streets.

Fear makes the people edgier than fly caught in a spiders net.

_Log Number 8. June 19, 4018._

The new filtration systems seem to be functioning. It was my discovery of the nano-toxins that allowed us to build these structures that will soon house humanity. As such founder, I, and the rest of my team, have been referring to the Domes as the Seven Citadels. One will be placed strategically on every continent, the hope is that the surviving people will make a pilgrimage to such a place. It may raise the hopes of the dead and dying.

_Log_ _Number 9. June 26, 4018_

The Citadel has commenced its first phase of ventilating the air and so far, the filters seem to be working. The army has blocked off all exits and entrances to the country, effectively stopping the flow of immigrants. Boats can be seen from shore to horizon, filled with families that might never feel soil under their feet once more. The Navy has taken to patrolling the waters to find those foolish enough to try and swim to shore.

Shots ringing out in the night are said to be a common occurrence.

_Log Number 10. June 30, 4018_

The damn Army stopped the immigrating process into Citadel Seven! The blasted men took bribes and now the poor and penniless are left on the street to die like dogs because the men that are suppose to safeguard our freedom want useless paper. You can not pay off death when it comes to your door.

The rich were permitted in and I'm glad at the very least, to thank whatever deity that might be listening for allowing my daughter safe passage. She now rests inside the Citadel.

The other Six Domes were lowered down by the Air Force yesterday. Still no word and my team and I grow more and more restless as the virus draws ever closer to our location.

_Damn the log, damn the date._

The first reported case of Mortem Dolor was documented yesterday. The homeless families surrounding the Citadel fled into the woodlands. I fear the trees roots will be filled with their corpses.

_I believe it is log 12. The date is no longer important._

The virus spreads rapidly through the United States. California was the first to fall, then Arizona and Nevada. The sickness spreads ever closer to our research center in Nebraska. I fear this will be my last Video Log. I pray to the cruel creature that controls our fate that my daughter never see these tapes.

The unforgiving Devine entity we have forever idolized has forsaken us and I fear a great darkness will be cast upon this land...

"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt,  
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt,  
It lies behind stars and under hills,  
And empty holes it fills,  
It comes first and follows after,  
Ends life, kills laughter."

That was written by J.R.R. Tolkien if I remember correctly. My daughter will never get the chance to read such a wonderful classic. I hope she lives and dies with hope that one day, humans will once again flourish under the gentle hand of Mother Nature.

Because, lets face it, what do we have left but scraps of hope we cling to like a babe to its mother. God save our souls.

**Yukiko was the name I gave Rukia's mother because roughly translated by a person that was not me, means snow child. Because I one day would like to be a writer, I'm working on different themes, and I'm taking a dip on the dark side, tell me what cha think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**I don't know why I'm starting another story, I really shouldn't.**

My feet fell silent as I padded lightly over the cobblestone streets. I knew it was my turn to help pull weeds in the fields but I just had to get out of the greenhouse. I shoved my hands in my pockets and avoided the small droids that flooded the square, spewing history and facts.

The nylon grass was tough underfoot and when I finally reached the only place clean enough for real grass, I was happy to see the small sapling growing towards the artificial sun was still alive. My sister would constantly hush me, telling me time and time again that the only plants that would grow in the Citadel were the ones planted and raised in the greenhouse. The small tree was my secret, one I kept to myself.

I sat back, watching the pure white clouds drift over the nonexistent sky. The screen that lined the dome was very realistic, it had to be, otherwise people would not be able to pretend that the world outside was just as fake as the sky. If you looked closely you could see the faint pixelation at the corners.

I blew my bangs out of my face and placed my hands behind my head. My eyes fluttered closed and imagined I was running in snow. My brother had told me about it once, precipitation that froze and formed unique patterns before melting back into nothingness.

I could hear voices trailing around the hill I rested on, many people walked this way when going to the Store or Bathhouse. I stilled and waited for them to pass, I was in a somber mood and didn't want to share my feelings with anyone that didn't truly want to know.

As I sat up a spasm rocked the screen, sending the peacefully dozing clouds to scatter into black. I shot up from my spot on the grass and spun around. The always blue daytime resembled the nighttime sky.

I raced to the wall, only a few paces away.

The metal felt cool to the touch and I rubbed my palm across it. A smile lifted my lips and a looked up once more, hoping to find the black screen again only to watch in horror as the blasted blue once again shot up on the other side of the dome.

"_Damn_."

I turned back, the pads of my fingers tracing the cracks in the metal. As I touched it, the metal seemed to ripple, shift, and wiggle. I took a step back and held my hand out, pushing lightly with my pointer finger.

The metal gave easily, spreading outward and taking the perception of solidarity with it. In its place was a hole, a tiny window into the outside world. I walked forward, my hands refusing to stay still, reached forward, connecting with cool glass.

Trees rose above even the Citadel's towering Dome, large vines hung from their branches and strange shapes shuffled in the shadows of the forest. I could feel the chill on the back of my neck from the feeling of something watching me. I scanned the tree line, not finding what was unnerving me.

I backed away slowly, transfixed as the ripple rebounded and snapped itself shut.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

I raced from the screens, going as fast as my legs would carry me. I pushed people out of the way and they shoved back, sometimes almost throwing me off balance.

My feet bounded up the wooden stairs and I tried to calm my exuberant heart and shaking hands. I slowly listened as my breath evened out and the flush of exercise left my cheeks. I carefully slid the door open and gently walked inside.

My sister raced from her crouched position at the shrine, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed my face over and over again while slipping in words between.

"I. Thought. We. Had. Lost. You!" She muttered, finally stopping and allowing me to step back and take a breath. I laughed and she scowled. "And just what is so funny young lady?"

"What would have gotten me in the first place?" I asked, a crossing my arms, raising and eyebrow, and cocking my hips. My sister sighed and padded daintily back to her mat before beautifully sinking into a crouch.

"You just be carful ok?" She whispered from her position on the floor. She seemed somewhat satisfied with my silence and instead, let me wander around the house.

My fingers intertwined behind my back as I scrolled through the automated pictures that filled the windows so that we couldn't see the rows and rows of monotone houses that lined our street. And the street after that, and the one that follows that one and so on and so forth.

The video of a meadow, drifting in the breeze, was fixed snug in the window frame. I ran my hand over the screen much as I had done with the Dome but the rippling of metal never came, just like I knew it wouldn't.

I would have to keep my mouth shut, no one would believe me. My ear was pressed against my brother-in-law's study, a small room at the far side of the house. He was an important figure in the Citadel's Government and worked with the Science Department. He also knew some of the secrets of the Dome. Since I was young I would always listen in on his calls and meetings. I already knew were the lights, food storage, and screen controls were located. All I needed was a code.

I readjusted my head to get closer to the wall so when that failed, I pulled out my backup glass and pressed it firmly against the wood. Their voices drifted into my ear.

"We will have to look into the creations of backup generators so things like what happened today, will never again come to pass." The tone was hard and firm, and sounded a but cocky, like he was used to getting his way. Brother would put him in his place.

"Mr. Burns, I can assure you that something like this will most certainly happen again because the Dome itself was made for short term use, to hold the new scientists until we find a cure or way to coexist with the virus. But you fools intend to hide us away till we die out." He never once raised his voice from its deep baritone and I could hear other men in the room shuffling uncomfortable around the room.

Before they started talking again I sprinted to the linen closet on the far side of the room, climbing up the racks without dignity so I could open the grate and see through the vent.

My brother was standing before his desk, his head held high and his hands placed lightly on each side of the desk. The other men shuffled their feet while the man I assumed was Mr. Burns, was flushing with rage.

"I am trying to assure the survival of our species!" He screamed but quickly rained in his voice so as not to make my sister aware of the tussle.

"And yet your actions will slowly kill us off." His words were sharp and his tone, unyielding.

I tucked my feet into my body so I could bend down with less pain and get a better look inside the room and not just at the tops of their head. Mr. Burns was a tall man, his skin a chalky pallor and and his bowler hat was placed on his thinning white hair. The rest of the politicians and delegates in the room were very monotone.

"Well then fix it. That's what we pay you for, give you is nice house!"

"I beg your pardon sir." My gasp was only covered because of the shuffling of men's squeaky shoes as they spun around to greet the passive face my my sister. "I sure hope you do not think we sit up here and do nothing, do not learn from our test and gain no knowledge from our research. I do hope you'll forgive us for you being so uninformed."

Her voice was tight and as stern as her husbands. Her flowing dress was loose around her shoulders and her short black hair flowed around her face and fell beautifully around her neck. She was grace personified but also had a look in her that if you did not know her kind nature, you might think she was chilled and guarded.

"Certainly Miss." He apologized bowing quickly to her.

"Mrs." Se corrected him and the men, already edgy, seemed about to shake out of their trousers. I had to cover my mouth to stop my giggling.

"Of corse." They shuffled out and I quickly jumped off my perch and slipped out the door, taking the route that would allow me to cross paths with the scumbags. I turned the corner with my most detached expression on and wanted to smile at how they all jumped. One held his hat in front of his chest as if to protect him.

"Leaving so soon, I thought you had just arrived?" Mr. Burns, thinking me an easier target than my sister, spit out a barb and I simply raised an eyebrow, infuriating him to the point that he marched promptly out of the house.

"How much did you hear?" I flinched when the sharp voice of my brother was now focused on me. I turned around a bit and watched as his eyes followed the slow walk of shame his competition took down our long road.

"Not much, just my sister telling them off. Whatever they said, they must have deserved it." I muttered and looked back to him to see his take.

"No man deserves the wrath for your sister." He joked but his face never moved from its stoic expression. It took many years to tell when he is kidding from his insults.

He promptly spun around, his suit tails fluttering behind him like dotting servants. I white slip of paper slipped from the pocket and as I was about to call out, I silenced myself and carefully picked it up.

The crisp, black letters were scribbled in a haste but the thin characters themselves gave away the fact that it was my brother who wrote it. I flipped it right side up and read over it. The words gave me a sense of foreboding and made a chill run down my spine.

_Sector: 13, Code: Hollow_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

My hands tapped on the metal plate. The words were bold, resolute, and not likely to change because I was wanting them too.

_Now Leaving: Sector 12_

I clicked my tongue in annoyance and walked away and onto the one street past that blasted sign. I kicked at loose stones down the perfectly manicured road and watched the two houses that lined the small path.

The one to my left was blue with pristine white shutters, the door painted white to match the pure roof. The flower bed was slightly unkept and the blue flowers tilted side to side in the artificially created wind.

The other house was a common brown, its lights on and the flower boxes lining the windows were ladened with fake white flowers. They remained stiff and I frowned at the obvious display of how unreal this world we live in was.

I walked home and as I was about to slide the door open when I heard the distinctive clink of our fine china. I slowly backed down the stairs and over to the side window, peeking through the glass and to the visiting guests. I smiled at how much snooping I'd been doing the past few days.

The thirteen leaders of the different Science Divisions were all seated around the large dining table. One was lounging back was a cup of sake in front of him. Another man was ram rod straight, his back looked like it might snap. I noticed he was shorter than the others and sat on a pillow. A woman clicked her sharp nails on the table while waiting for my brother to finish his drink. One finger was covered by a beautiful golden guard.

I couldn't hear what they were saying so I raced under the windows and around to the back door, the farthest entrance from the dining room. I crept around the doors and instead decided I might be able to hear better from over.

I yanked on the rope and smirked as the old latter clanked down silently on well oiled hinges. I padded upstairs while mapping out the house inside my head. The bed room then the living room. When I came to the correct area, I squatted and pressed my ear to the wood, getting the reward of listening in on their conversation.

"-third move this month. You simply can not keep upheaving my work and expect me to play jigsaw with the scattered papers that make it to the new lab!" A man yelled and was automatically shushed by the others. I moved up a bit and found a small moth hole in the wood. I peeked through.

"This one is not in plain sight, and its close to the observatory." A woman this time, her hair was long and braided. She sipped timidly at her cup but the air around her betrayed the menacing actions she could bring.

"Always the peacemaker." This man was the foulest of them all, with a tacky headdress and paint wiped across his face to make him look nothing short of a monster. "My experiments are coming back positive and if those meddling government men so much as try to look at what's mine-"

"Enough." The crowd fell into a hush. They all looked forward towards my brother, wanting his opinion on the matter.

"We are close to a cure. We need to delay the virus for a few more years. At the rate it's eating away at the filtration systems...we have but months." I had to clamp my mouth shut, biting my cheek so hard it made my eyes tear up, tops top the gasp from passing my lips.

"We could replace the filter with a remade one. It would take time and some public help but-" He, the drunken man, would have gone on had the small man not interrupted him with his own contradiction.

"You know very well that we can't do that. It would cause Dome wide panic and just start riots. Scared humans are the one thing we don't need right now, besides, the screens are to complex for the machines we have here, we could never recreate one of such complexities in time."

"We should at least try. What's the other option, wait till the virus seeps in and starts changing people?" My quiet breathing was coming in faster bursts as they reveled more and more information. The quiet tapping woman stopped her obsessive noise and whispered, stopping the few talking around her. More turned to hear what she had said.

"We have lost all connections with the other branches. Asia is down, Europe is in Dome wide panic, Africa can't be reached and Australia hasn't been heard from in more than a month. How long will it take for us to turn into them." Her tone was a sharp as my brothers. Her cruel words made the thickness in the air turn almost sour on your tongue.

"So what do we do now?"

"There is only one thing to do." This snark remark came from a woman leaning back against the wall in the corner of the room, her hands whitening under the powerful stares of the other twelve people in the room. They glared at her till she explained her meaning behind the cryptic comment. "We wait."

They seemed to bristle at the simple two words. A few snorted and shot glares at the man slipping at his rice wine. He was smiling off into the distance unaware to the hushed barbs at his, who I assumed, assistant. He just stood up and padded her on the back before promptly walking out the door.

"Let him calm down. He dotes that girl like a mother hen." A few scoffed but no laughter filled the room like on the few other occasions I'd seen the twelve Captains come together. Their silence was almost unsettling.

"Tomorrow we will meet at the the new location." He responded, reaching into his pocket for the slip of paper tucked away in my sock drawer. When his hand came up empty he raised his eyes to meet the others and they are straitened their backs and watched as he looked around the floor.

"Don't tell me you lost it." A man who I couldn't see from my position asked with anger lacing his tone.

"We need to find it. Disperse." They all stood at once, a few sliding the door and leaving my hole of sight. I jumped up and padded across the floor to the stairs. They clanked a bit when I haphazardly thew them back into their closed position. I sprinted to my room and ripped my covers off my bed and covered my legs.

About that time a man knocked lightly on the door. When I told him to come in, his white head of hair peeked around the wood and smiled at me and, to him, I appered to be an unsuspecting teenage girl just reading a good book on her time off from the chore of farming. I raised an eyebrow as if to inquire what he needed.

"You haven't happened to seen a slip of paper lying around have you?" He asked kindly. My brain poured over every detail of my lie so that they would flow together soundlessly.

"Oh yes!" I opened my draw and pulled it off the bottom. He raised an eyebrow at my choice of hiding places and I quickly mumbled out the rest of my poorly planed lie. "I found one of the men that visited brother looking at it. I told him it was a love note. I thought that if he wanted it so bad, it must be important. It seems I was right!"

I knew the giggle I gave him might have been a bit over kill but he bought it easily enough and even flashed me a smile. I handed it to him and he slid the door shut before calling to the others.

I let all the air rush from my lungs and fell backwards onto the bed. I thought over all I had heard. The other Citadel's had all fallen to the virus. The filtration system, the one my parents had died to create, was failing. We had months.

The last two were not as scary as they should have been because I could feel my faith in my brother tugging at all my doubt. I let out a huff and blew the hair out of my face. It would be a long night with all this new knowledge.

At dinner I kept quiet, noticing that while I can lie well to almost anyone, my family was not included in that tally. My sister looked across at me with a questioning look in her eyes. It seemed as if brother had much on his plate as well because he didn't look up from his plate till desert, and even then it seemed forced for my sisters sake.

"I have a gift for you." He told her, stopping her fork from reaching her mouth. Her lips tilted up in a smile and even when the world seemed to be ending, he returned her smile in earnest.

He stood and grabbed a box that was hidden behind the door, left by a maid perhaps. He opened it with a flourish, fanning the lid out in a great arch to reveal the bouquet of blue flowers tucked inside. She brought both hands to her mouth and carefully grabbed the bundle from its wrapping paper.

"There're real!" I furrowed my brows and gently reached across the table to touch one of the soft petals. I laughed when the smooth surface touched the pads of my fingers. "Oh what are they?"

"Just a side effect from creating the nitrogen-less soil. I thought you should have some. I wanted to get them a few shades darker, then they might have matched your eyes." His normally hard expression seemed to melt at the radiance that was my sisters smile.

I stood and as I was about to leave the room to give them some needed alone time, a puzzle piece clicked in my mind. My feet halted and a spun around, getting my brothers attention.

"I know that look. What is your question?" In this mood, it seemed nothing could damper his spirits, not even my unlimited curiosity.

"Where did you get them? Your lab?" His smile seemed to flicker for a second and then he nodded. "But I thought that your department was working on Containment of the virus specimen, not removing nitrogen from the soil."

"I asked a friend for the Agricultural Department to wrap a few up for me." His voice was short and clipped and I apologized before backing out, hoping that if I left them alone my sister might cheer him up again.

"I'm going to be right back!" I yelled while pulling my shoes on.

"But it will be dark soon!" She called and I just scoffed.

"Then it's a good thing I'm a bat now isn't it?" The joke fell flat and when no one followed me, I took off in the direction of the 12th District.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Ichigo I coming into play in the next few chapters.**

I plucked at the blue flowers petals and was rewarded with the sound of the plants shoot bending with the press of my finger. A real shoot, a real plant, a plant from my brothers workplace even though the lab where he worked wasn't doing any such projects.

I found a bundle of flowers missing about halfway around the side of the house. Enough was cut for, say, a small bouquet. I should hire myself out and become a detective. I brought my hands up and high fived myself.

The door was locked but if years of losing my keys taught me one thing, the art of picking locks would never be a waste of time to learn. The kit I carried around with me was in my bag at home so I made do with a Bobby pin from my hair and a toothpick from my pocket. The flimsy mechanism was no match, and gave in with an almost silent click.

I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could. With the sun setting, it cast a violent orange hue over everything, making most of the kitchen alliances appear to be on fire. I spun around a few times when I thought I heard foot steps following me only to show an empty living room and bare everything else. The house felt dead, like a shell of what a true house should be.

I leaned back against the counter and grabbed the flashlight from my back pocket. I had snatched it from the coat rack to the side of the nook where we kept our shoes. It was mainly for when brother got called late into work.

I flashed it around the darkening kitchen, focusing on the reflective surface of the refrigerator. I ran it up and down the length of the machine, listening to it hum. Hum?

The rest of the house was bare, scarce of anything that proved that people lived there. The living room's chairs lacked the imprint from being sat in to long, the doors were polished till they shined, not covered in residue from children and messes. So why would a fridge be on in a house no one lives in?

I moved towards it slowly, the handle was a shiny black and while it looked harmless, whatever my brother went out of his way to protect in a fridge in an unused house should have more protection than a chrome finished metal shell.

I peeked around the swing out doors to find a few cartons of eggs, a carton of milk, and a bag of fruits. My hopes were dashed until I noticed the small buttons located on the underside one of the egg cartons. My fingers pried it from the metal shelves and it popped with a click, opening to show a small keyboard and an even smaller screen. Leave it to my brother to fit all that technology into an egg carton.

The letters flashed in a line across the screen and I read them carefully before sating them out loud so I would remember.

"Type in your designated passcode for entry." My fingers hovered over the keys before delving into my memory to think of anything that would give me an idea of what brother would put for his password.

The smile on my sisters face slipped into being under my lids and I automatically typed in her name, the machine, seeming to accept it as a correct answer, made the sound of whirling gears before the small red light flipped to green.

I moved away from the doors as the thick metal of the fridge slid out on well oiled hinges to reveal a corridor bathed in darkness. A chill raced down my spine, like the air personified was warning me for what I might find at the end of the hallway.

My feet moved without my accord, shuffling down the hallway. The light from the flashlight made the nondescript walls appear to be something straight from a horror film.

I knew when I reached the end because the pale yellow beam landed on a handle. I moved closer, feeling along the walls for some sort of switch or button. When I ran my fingers over a raised platform, I quickly jabbed it, happy to hear the buzzing of lights readying themselves for turn on. The overhead lamps cast rings of light on the floor and gave me a better view of the menacing gray doors lined with bolts the size of my finger and the small keypad similar to the one hidden with the eggs.

This one had no instructions, just a keyboard and a small lit flashing red light that I assumed would convert to green should I guess the correct word. I tried my sisters name again and when it beeped, I jumped, looking around to make sure that no one heard. The empty hallway seemed to be laughing at my makeshift of a plan. The small slip of paper. The small slip of paper.

I kept repeating that, it became a mantra so I could summon a picture of what the letters had spelled out. Sector 13. That I could remember clearly, the writing was as pristine as my brothers normal script, but the second half, the one I'm assuming held the password to this door, was but scribbles on the paper and as such, just scribbles in my mind.

I don't know what I was expecting to find, maybe a cure to our problems in the very labs trying to do just that. I thought back to why I even wanted to come out here. Maybe it was to understand why my brother, a man who treasures honesty above all else, to lie to his sister and wife. But I knew that wasn't it.

I wanted to see what it was like to be a scientist, just like my mother and father.

The truth made me feel a little bit sick, like I had just spun around to many times like when you were young. The feeling of wanting to be like my dead mother made me feel a bit hollow inside.

"Hollow. That's it." I shot up from my crouch of self pity and instead typed the letters in with the upmost of care, the light flashed red once more before shifting to a promising shade of green. The gray doors gave way.

It was an office. It had around thirty desks, a few science stations and even fewer places to put bigger equipment. One wall had a water cooler to it and made me want to scoff. Why hide this?

And that's when it hit me. Really, why hide an office unless the office was hiding something still. I walked down the central rows of cubicles. They all were of similar build and structure, the same in almost every noticeable way, no hidden buttons or trap switches. All but one were empty.

On my brothers dest lay piles and piles of files, some sorted into stacks but most strew around the tabletop. I moved on past them till a single word popped out to me.

Hollow.

The file was heavy, filled with reports on a specimen they referred to as Hollow One. No pictures were attached but diagrams of different organs were drawn in on sheets and papers, all tacked together in one folder.

My eyes flicked around the room till they fell on the far wall. It was lined with buttons and switch and an innumerable amount of dials. I was scared to touch one for fear I might turn something on and alert the twelve scary owners of this place to come rushing in, in their nightgowns.

The glass that that covered the rest of the wall above it showed my face back to me. I picked at a blemish on my cheek and when it only seemed to make it worse, I pressed my finger to the glass to pretend my giant fingers would do the trick.

I stopped and frowned. Two years ago some boys replaced the tinted windows on the girls locker room doors with one sided glass, they were able to see in, the girls would be clueless. So as to tell the difference, my brother showed me a trick.

I pressed my finger against the glass, my pads flattening when pressure was added. The finger reflected back on me was right on line, no small gap was between them like there should have been. It was one sided glass. Something was on the other side and was watching me.

I backed away slowly, turning around a large post situated on each side of the giant window. From my safe place, I scanned the dials till I found one with the letters Window beneath it. I crept over to it, slowly spinning the circle upward and watching as the tint dimmed and then vanished completely. I could see the vague shapes in the room. It looked like a sort of box, a room for the animal they called Hollow One maybe?

Next came the lights. I spun this much slower because it was late at night so it seemed only natural that the creature might be sleeping. When the lights started to finally raise a small voice peeped from the control board.

"Voice Interphase Activated. Name Required." It sounded like a woman and when she asked for it I gave it to her though when I said it, it came out more a question than a statement. "Name Excepted. How Bay I Be Of Assistance."

"What can you tell me about Hollow One." I questioned, giving up on turning the lights on and potentially startling the animal. The interphase seemed to think for a second, most likely looking through her many files for the answer to my inquiry.

"Files Found. Hollow One Is The First And Only Successful Capture Of A Living Creature Living Outside The Dome Walls." She didn't pause at my gasp and continued with her reading. "One Was Recently Moved To A New Facility To Remove Suspicion Of Illegal Activities."

"But why hide such an amazing discovery?" I asked, throwing my arms out in outrage. For thirty years we thought we were the last living species, and they hide the true from us.

"The Truth Was Hidden Away Because Hollow One Would Cause Mass Riots." She responded monotony, pausing to scan through more files.

"Why?" Another question and she seemed to almost get annoyed of me before scanning again and replying.

"Files State He Was Hidden Because Of Species." This of corse lead to more questions the interphase didn't seem to want to answer but I asked her anyways.

"Yes but what was his species before the change by the virus?" I held my breath and I could feel my heart pounding rapidly against my ribcage.

"Human."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Yay! Ichigo!**

The world tilted on its axis and I looked at the dark cage with a new understanding. Inside was a man, a boy, a child maybe, some human that was being poked and prodded for the sake of all the people in the dome.

My fingers hovered over the dial, its one side yellower than the other. I twirled it up a notch and the click it made as the lights rose seemed to resonate within the much to big science lab. The room came into sharper perspective and the lumps and unrecognizable shapes began to take forms.

A sharp square shifted into a bed and a toilet was the bumpy mound pushed into the back corner. Once the dial was pushed to its limit I scanned the room, letting my scared breath out in one huge whoosh.

"Interphase, did my brother let him go?" I asked hopefully and machine buzzed to life, whirling and staring back up while searching for the answer.

"No. Hollow One Is Confirmed Incarcerated."

I peeked around the slight overhang and still couldn't see any sign that anyone was living in the cell. I looked back up to the speaker from were the feminine voice originated. My tone was slightly stuttered with uncertainty.

"Can you show me the door."

"Interphase Can Pull Up Schematics On The Door But Warning Is Written Into My Inner Core Processes. Door Can Only Be Opened By The Head Of A Devision." I huffed in anger and scanned the nobs, dials, and spinners. None were labeled Door.

"I'm a Division Leader." I lied and when the Interphase asked for a password, her preprogrammed voice seemed to doubts my words. "Um...the passcode is..."

I knew my brother wound lack the understanding to use a different code than before, that would just be to simple. I racked my brain and when it came up empty, the computer seemed to start to mock me.

"Password Required."

Think think. Names. Family. Loves. Home. Me. Rukia! Is the password Rukia?" I asked, crossing my fingers behind my back for luck while the interface scanned her database for the correct answer.

"Code Accepted. Door Resides To The Left." The voice died down and I spun to the left, looking for a handle or button, but the only thing to the left was a wall. I placed my head against the plaster and knocked, the sound of solid stone resonating back to me. I sighed and prepared to ask again for a more detailed clue when I noticed I notch in the wall, only big enough for the tip of my finger.

I placed my hand by the crevice and yanked it back when a small prickling sensation caused blood to drip onto the carpet. I stuck the bleeding appendage in my mouth and watched in fascination as the wall seemed to raise before unsealing with a poof of air from all sides. I let my hands fall to my sides in awe.

As soon as I had both feet inside, the door slid shit behind me and locked with a click that seemed to bounce off the walls. I pounded fruitlessly for a few seconds before digging my for my flashlight and realizing I left it on the control deck.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" As I walked down the steps, I realized that the man could have hidden on them so I couldn't have seen him from the window. The hairs at the nape of my neck stood on end and the feeling of being watched made a chill descend till it was so deep it seemed to be in my bones. I moved forward.

The room was darker than the window made it seem, the once clear furniture pieces were now featureless masses shrouded in a layer of gray. I moved forward with the sense of touch alone, my fingers hitting the hard mattress and firm metal of the headboard. Next came the cool ceramic toilet. I feared that calling out would only cause the already scared man to attack.

"This may be a little hard to believe, in fact I don't even know why I'm doing it myself, but I want to help you." I made my way over to the far wall, a place where I hadn't gotten a good look at from my perch above. My fingers brushed the flat wall. "The Interphase told me that you are from outside the Dome. Outside the Citadel."

My feet shuffled over a tray I assumed was for food and it clanked noisily. Well if the man didn't know I was here, he should would now. I spun around when I heard a breath behind me. I continued talking, my voice hiking up an octave in my fear.

"What is it like out there, is it as pretty as it seems? I saw outside once; when the screens malfunctioned. The trees were stunning-"

My sentence was cut off when a large arm grabbed me from behind, the coiled muscles cutting off my oxygen supply. I tore at the skin blocking my neck with blunt nails, only causing him to clench tighter, cutting of my airways more than before.

My head was starting to pound like worker had taken a hammer to it; a ringing in my ears had me wanting to vomit and I could feel my tiring arms dropping limply to my sides. Just when I was about to sink into oblivion, the man spun me around and slammed my back into the cool metal of the cage wall.

"Who are you? Who sent you." His voice was a low baritone, rough or from sleep or lack of use, I didn't know. The pain in my brain had only come into sharper perspective when it rattled against my skull after he shoved me to the wall. His hand remained around my vocal cords and even when I started coughing, he only tightened his grip.

I could only see the whites of his eyes and the tanned skin that clutched at my chin. I met his eye, if I was going to die, he would have to watch as he murdered me. I won the staring match, and with a grunt, he let his hands fall from my bruised throat.

My body collapsed in on itself; my legs crumbled and my hands scrambled to catch myself before I hit the floor with a thud. My whole chest was on fire as I gulped in huge masses of air and tried to rub the tender skin. I could feel the indentations left by his fingers.

"You didn't answer my questions." He accused, crouching down to bet a better look at me. I was still hacking up a lung.

"I couldn't respond to you if I had tried, dumbass, I was being chocked!" My rude outburst only caused my lungs more unnecessary and precious oxygen. I went silent and waited till he shouted again, but was surprised when he stood and receded into the darkness, only to return moments later with a glass of water in his fingers. "I don't want your pity."

"And I don't want your sass. Drink it." I followed the shift of his legs considering from my perspective, that was all that I could see. "Who are you. To be able to get in here shows you are top notch or a family friend of my tortures."

He seemed to get his answer when I involuntarily flinched at the title he gave the scientists. His eye watched me as I gulped the water down, a trickle slipping down my face. I pushed the feeling of discomfort down when my neck protested at being moved.

"My name is Rukia. My brother is-"

"I know who he is. Doctor Stick Up His Ass. Which makes this all the more interesting, are you his daughter-" I shook my head and he tried again. "Sister?"

"Yes."

"So that opens up many other pathways of questions, more for myself than you. Why would you risk your relationship with your brother to come on a rescue mission for a man you have never even met?" He questioned, pure doubt lacing his voice.

"Truthfully, it was because I wanted to be like my mother. She build the Citadel's you know, the filtration systems, the food storage, the power systems, the whole lot. I guess I wanted to pretend I might live up to the legacy she left behind. That a good enough reason?" He nodded once, a short head bob I almost missed in the lowlight.

"So what in God's name possessed you to walk into a cell of a could be raging lunatic?"

"I was hoping to talk but it seems as you are more keen on violence." I stood on weak legs and tried to straiten my spine so I didn't look like I was buried in his huge shadow.

"And what would you do, if you convinced me your not working with your brother, that is?" He asked, swaggering forward a few steps before planting his feet. His toes were blue and the many calluses on the skin seemed to be splitting and bleeding.

"I don't know. I didn't think I would get this far." I muttered and felt a blush of mortification powder my cheeks at his throaty chuckle.

He didn't speak for a few seconds, instead he evaluated me from the shadows were I could not look over him as well. At last as if he deemed I wasn't walking him to his death, he held out his hand. It was as rough as sandpaper and when he carefully moved forward to the door, I tugged my hand from his.

"If I take you out of here, you have to promise not to hurt anyone." He tried scoffing out an argument but my tone went a few vocals higher and when I screeched out the word promise, he agreed.

"I don't want death anymore than you do. I just want to go home."

So I opened the door and overrode the Interphase response to contact the authorities. As I was about to show him to the door, he raced past me to the water cooler. Before I could ask what he was doing, the wall slid downward to show a shelf behind lined with equipment.

"What is all this?" I hesitantly asked and the man laughed with out humor.

"It's my stuff. They took it when they caught me and tried to replicate it. Well not all of the scientists."

"Why not all?" I asked, reaching out to grab a small white container that seemed to almost be a mask of sorts.

"Because half of the Science Devision don't even know I'm here." He glanced over at me and a tilt to his mouth gave away the hope he had for escape. "They wanted all the glory of curing the killing virus."

"So this is all your's?" I was getting bored of being so clueless.

"Most of it is mine, see this mask, it filters the nitrogen infected with the virus from the air so you can breath." He held up a white and red thing, the thick blood colored lines scratched each cheek. When I looked back down, he started to shove things into his pockets.

He introduced me to his gadgets and then we were off. He took the corridor in stride, blatantly ignoring my questioning of how he would even escape. It was when we were jumping over a fence and into a backyard on the other side far town when he thought I was privileged enough to here his plan.

"You said that you saw outside through a gap, I need to know were it was at." I pointed to it and he nodded, moving forward a bit and then crouching behind a bush to avoid detection by a man finishing his nightly run.

"Why is it important?" Another question and he seemed to be getting quite annoyed with my curiosity just like most people did. We gained a few blocks.

"Because, right before I was captured about a month ago, I shoved some moss into the fan rotations. The fans that cool the screens. So when the moss grew to a big enough size to stop even just one of the blades, the screens would blow a fuse, I would see it, and I could leave. But I was...held up."

"They caught you." I looked over at him. And watched the anger flash in his eyes and the hatred tighten his muscles. "You should be so cross with them, oh don't look at me like that, of corse what they did to you was horrid and inhuman, but to what lengths would you go to save your race? They thought they were doing what was right."

My words seemed to enter one ear and exit the other, he was much to focused on the screen that appeared to be solid. When the man walking his dog left the street, he stood and I with him. We walked across the road and when he reached the place were I witnessed the world outside the Citadel, he smiled at the rippling effect the metal had when he touched it.

"At least tell me your name. Or why you were here. Something." I could hear the plea in my voice and it seemed he could as well because he walked forward, held out his hand and when I gave him mine, we shook. He brought the knuckles up to his face and kissed the bones.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki and I owe my life to you. I sure do hope you are a good lier because I'm sure you will need a brilliant story to cover the brushing on your neck. Again, very sorry."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" The men's voices surrounded us and instinct seemed to take over. Ichigo shoved me behind him, holding me tightly as if to protect me.

"Hostage is contaminated. Confirmed, hostage is infected. Breach found." The men yelled into radios and pointed guns at us. They shuffled around, the guns I mean, they made clicking noises that made me jump if one man so much as hiccuped.

Ichigo worked fast. Going off the radio, he must have thought they would let me go, let me leave if they thought I was a hostage. Oh how wrong he was.

A gun was pulled from his coat and aimed at my head. His yells dwarfed the policemen's as he told them his demands. My body was shaking with fear and my head felt like it was being crushed my a wrecking ball.

Infected. Contaminated. Those words were not spoken here. Taboo. The one time I had even feared for my life was the night they took my neighbor away for slipping out in a hazmat suit to gather mushrooms for his ailing wife. They were both quietly disposed of and burned to stop the spread of the mass killing virus. People feared to even name it in the house.

I had no place left in the Citadel if they thought me to be infected. I would be rounded up and killed like a dog once its to old to provide labor. A plan, stupid, brilliant, and completely ridiculous, formed in my mind and while I was absolutely terrified, I knew what I had to do.

I reached for the small mask hidden under the lip of my jacket. The police's eyes were fixed on the pallid face of Ichigo, so they didn't notice that I pulled out the plastic cover and his mask from his coat. Even he seemed oblivious to my actions. In one swift move, I reached up and shoved it on his face, the mask making a sucking sound and sticking to his cheekbones. Mine was a small mouth piece and when I tugged him to the screen, he seemed to look at me with eyes as open wide with fear as mine must have been.

Together we jumped into the oblivion of shifting metal and the rain of bullets. And just as before, the rift snapped shut behind up like the snap of a finger.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

I hadn't realized how high up we were. The Citadel was positioned up a hill or a mountain, I didn't know, but in that moment, the one thing I did know was that the water rushing up to meet Ichigo and I would not make our landing any easier.

The falling wasn't bad, the air whipped my hair from my face and the air from my lungs (or that could have just been my scream). We clutched desperately at each others coats and clothing, pulling the our bodies together. Ichigo seemed to act instinctually.

He tucked me into his side, his arm snaked around my waist and tugged me up to his chest were I clamped onto his lapels. My yell seemed to be stolen by the wind.

He tilted his body so we gained drag, slowing our decent. Even with the larger area and slower speeds, we were like a bomb dropped at terminal velocity, rocketing towards the water that lapped quietly at the lakes sides. As the murky water raced to meet us, I screamed again and Ichigo tilted into a diving position as our bodies kissed the water.

BTS

My whole body was one huge ache. I thought back to my activities that could have caused this. Did I play tennis with brother again?

When the memories flooded my mind, my sore chest heaved and I tried to breath and found that even in the dark water, oxygen came easy to me. I brought my fingers up to gently rub the clear masks side, thanking it for deriving air from the water around me.

I tried to kick my legs to get to the top of the water and find out how much time had passed since I had fallen. I chuckled darkly at that word, fallen, like I was some angel that was cast from paradise for helping something that needed me. I pushed the metaphors from my mind and focused on finding out which was was up.

Everything was dark, undistinguished, and unrecognizable. While the mask was working its hardest to supply my lungs with enough air to allow me to breath, it was having a hard time. My chest started to ache with its lack of oxygen. I patted my pockets and found that I still had my small flashlight from when I had grabbed it from the console. I flashed it around, the beam shooting off into the dark and showing me nothing that could be of help.

I was so ladened down, not even my natural buoyancy could tell me the way to the surface. My fingers were growing colder and colder with the water seeping into my bones and chilling me from the inside, out. I flashed the yellow light upward and downward, hoping that if Ichigo survived that he could show the the correct direction.

The thought of a dead Ichigo floating not far from my head made me shiver, and not just from the cold. Again, I pushed the vile idea from my brain and focused and listening.

A splash from the side and a bright stock of hair came into view, the white of his mask shining like a beacon in the dark waters. I kicked at the water, my heart crashing against my ribs so hard, I feared it might burst from my chest.

He wrapped his arms under my shoulders and wiped his legs back and forth, getting us closer and closer to, what I assumed, was above. When our heads broke the waters still surface, Ichigo dragged my heaving body over to a slight ledge, tossing me over and onto the hard ground.

"You're alive!" He cried, grabbing my cheeks in a childlike happiness. I smacked them away and looked around to the well set up campground. A small fire popped and crackled as it ate at the wooden teepee at its center. A tent made from branches and leaves rested a few feet away from the glowing embers. "I thought you were dead! So imagine my surprise when the mirror lake starts glowing!"

His voice hitched at the name of the body of water to my side. I crawled carefully to the fires edge and warmed my hands up, watching Ichigo taking off his slopping layers of extra clothing. When he reached for his shirt I made a strange gurgling noise.

"What?" He questioned, letting the shirt slap the rock to right with a slosh. His tanned skin seemed to glow under the fires red blaze and of the many scars that decorated his chest, an exceptionally large cut decorated his shoulder. I looked down at my perfectly manicured hands, only rough from the few times I worked in the Agricultural Department, tilling the soil. My eyes flashed to his, being warmed by the fire.

They were callused and cut, the hands of a worker.

"Are you ok?" He asked again and I looked up, blatantly trying to ignore his bare chest. "You had better get out of those clothes."

"What?" I screeched, clutching my dripping coat more tightly to my frozen chest. "Listen here sonny boy, you may be the last man on this planet but-"

"I meant so they could dry-" he interrupted, a smirk tilting up at the corner of his mouth. "-and because you might catch hypothermia. Nice thought though, sleeping together."

I huffed, annoyed, and picked at my coat before taking it off followed by my pants. My over shirt came next, a little hard to tug over the mask, but after it came off, I felt bare standing there in my boy boxers and a tank top. He whistled and I chucked a rock at him.

"So you live out here?" I asked, looking around at the shadowed land then back at him to see his reaction to my question.

"In the wilderness, oh no, there is a village about two days walk that way. It's my town and that's were I live." He muttered, looking at me from over the flickering flames. "Now it's my turn. Why did you come to help me?"

"It wasn't you, I told you this." I could feel a blush of mortification powder my cheeks and I looked away and hoped he couldn't see.

"I know, but you could have plead that you were a hostage. But instead you save me and sacrifice yourself. Why?" He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his legs.

"Did you hear what that man said into the radio?" When he shook his head I sighed. "Well I did, he said I was infected. Even if they thought I was a hostage, I would just be taken away, killed, and burned to stop the spread of infection."

"But that's not how the infection works-"

"Try telling them that." I muttered and watched as he fiddled with his mask till the top half slipped form his face and he was looking at me with his real eyes. The creepy voice from his mask still remained but it was nice to know a human resided behind such an inhuman shell. "Besides, they would most likely be able to look into records and see who let you out. If I wasn't convicted by then..."

"So you decided to come with me." He finished and I nodded. "It's your turn, what else do you want to know?"

"Why were you by the Citadel? How did they catch you?" I knew it was two questions but with my whole banishment problem, he seemed kind enough to humor me.

"I was looking to see how long the ventilation systems would last and they found me when checking for the same thing. They ran tests to see if I was still human. I don't know what they expected to find, me to be part monster?" He scoffed and poked a stick into the flames.

"Why would you care if our vents went out?" He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth to make tutting noses and prepared to ask me a question.

"So are you planning on following me to my camp?" I nodded then he thought about my previous question, as if he was contemplating if he should tell me. "My people, decided that when the Citadel's fall, we would come and help them. Give them masks like ours, teach them how to live in this world. To coexist with the virus."

I remained silent, absorbing small facts he spewed and I was surprised to realize that he was mildly intelligent.

"You said decided, did people not want to help my people?" His lips tightened into a hard line and that expression enough gave me my answer. I sucked in a horrified breath. "They would leave my people to _die_?"

"So many family members were lost to the virus because they were left out in the wilderness. I think had I had to watch my child die, I would be a little frustrated too."

I remained silent, not so sure that I wanted to travel to a camp of murderers. He seemed to sense my growing hostility and sighed in annoyance. He stood and crawled into the tent, patting the spot next to him.

"You wanna snuggle?" He joked, not smiling as I pushed his body as far away from mine as he could go without bringing the whole shelter down on us.

"One last question, what happened to all the stars?" He just sighed and promised to tell me in the morning. I drifted off to sleep imagining the giant balls of gass twinkling above the towering treetops. I dreamt I was flying into sky.

**They are both being a tad bit unreasonable.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

My arm was lodged under something and the tingling traveling up my shoulder was only adding to the fact that I had to wake up. Sometime in the night I had thrown my leg over Ichigo and while I knew we would be in a comprising position, the hazy blur that made up my mind, seemed to push that thought away.

His breathy moan blew warm air into my ear and it was that warmth that resulted from it, made my brain shock out of its daze. My eyes flashed open and I pushed against his chest to get him away from me.

He shot up, his legs coiling under him and within seconds he had his back pressed to the stone and a long hunting knife clutched tightly in his hand. When he realized it was just me, his breath huffed out in a whoosh and his crouch deteriorated the as he slid to the ground. He rubbed his fingers into his eye sockets and glared at me while pinching the bride of his nose.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded angrily, and I answered instantaneously considering the arm long knife he still held lightly in his grip. When he noticed my gaze, he lifted up his pant leg and put it back in its sheath.

"It's not my fault! You built a microscopic tent and groped me in my sleep!" I argued, the fury rising to the surface when he hid the knife.

"Well I wasn't expecting to sleep with anyone. You were dead." He ducked down and walked out of the wooden shelter. I crawled out after him.

The fire had died down and it still looked to be nighttime, even though a few slim beams of light penetrated the heavy foliage above. The trees were nothing like the ones I had spotted outside the Citadel, these were massive, so many feet high. I then understood, that was why I couldn't see the stars last night.

"These don't look anything like the trees around the Dome." I was spinning around in awe.

"Of course they don't, the Dome takes in oxygen and spews out carbon monoxide. The trees grow a little more normally there than here. More wild I guess." He explained. "Time to go."

He kicked snapped leaves and dark sand over the dwindling ashes, muting the slight glow the fire provided on the shadowed ground. He laced up his boots and slipped his coat on over his wrinkled shirt. He placed the top section of his mask on and gestured to the forest with a tilt of his head.

"So are we going to have to walk the whole way?" I questioned after over an hour of walking. My choice in clothing could have been better, the shoes were fine, but the coat refused to keep in heat and the pants were uncomfortable when dried incorrectly. "Not that this trek into dark scary woods is not completely stellar, but I'm a Dome girl and want my nice house and air conditioning."

"Your incisive comments are just lovely, Princess." He replied in a snarky tone. He slashed through another low hanging vine with his freaking machete.

"You know something, I think this place is quite pretty." I touched the trees bark in passing and when I glanced over to him he had stopped and looked back at me with his brows drawn together in an unbelieving expression. "Im not saying I want to build a summer home but the scenery is...not horrid. Go back to your macho slashing."

He sighed in annoyance and made a big arch to rid our path of pesky roots. He shot a glare over his shoulder every few minutes when he thought I wouldn't notice. His eyes were hidden behind his mask but the sides molded and shifted when his face made different expressions, telling me what he looked like under that mask.

"So we are just going to walk for two days till we reach your slums." I insulted, watching as the barb locked itself into his monumental ego. His shoulders tightened up and his ears flushed pink. When he just continued onward I started to feel bad. "Sorry, that was rude. I'm just tired. This princess needs a good long bath."

My joke fell on deft ears. Ichigo was to busy cutting away at the vines so I could craw through them with ease. Or as much ease as you could have in a monstrous, man-eating forest.

"So, tell me. Do you have a girl back in your town?" I asked, not all that interested but wanting the cold silence that was created between us to dissipate. He took the bait and his voice cheered up.

"Yeah, I have two."

"You have what?" I questioned, disbelief coloring my face with a vivid red. No wonder they sent him so far away from the rest of them, he was a jerk.

"Relax. I was talking about my sisters." He laughed and the sound reverberated around the tightly knit together trees. "Why were you so flustered sweetheart?"

"Knock that impudent smile off our face." I chided and was rewarded with a smack to the face when a loose branch must have slipped Ichigo's view. "Very mature."

"So, at your age they normally marry you off don't they? Are you married?" He laughed but I could feel the underlying tension in his words. I wondered what he worried for. "Or are you still to young for that sort of thing?"

"Young, I'm considered an old hag." I giggled and clambered over a fallen log, trying to keep up with his jerky movements. He seemed shocked that I said that and looked back at me like he had question. "For reference sake, just how old do you think I am?"

"I don't know. Sixteen, seventeen?" He guessed, spinning back around to maul more trees. I gasped in outrage and that drew his attention back to my mouth, clearly visible underneath the clear plastic protecting my oxygen.

"I'm twenty-four!" He seemed honestly shocked, so much so, that he skidded to a stop and looked me over a few times before muttering an 'I don't see it' and continuing with his walking.

"I have another question."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Would you quit swinging that thing around like some sort of insouciance?!" I yelled and he just snorted, daring me to ask him the question. "As I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted, why wear the masks?"

"You want the explanation in short or the true reason?" When I shot him a glare, he frowned and nodded. "When the virus gets in your system, it takes control of your body, makes it grow and in the process, rewrites most of your genetic code. When you're finished, you have an exoskeleton and an inner skeleton. The virus creates extra bone enamel to protect itself and in order for the body not to just go into complete meltdown, it shuts off the brain."

"Can it really just do that? I though the virus just kills." He shot a look back at me and I quickly shut up, sprinting forward so I could hear his words better. "Go on."

"Then the human body is running on complete innate actions, instincts. They are dangerous. When we created the masks, the clear color would just attract them, so we based our coloring to make us look like them."

"That's really quite ingenious." I said and then the pieces seemed to click into place. So that was what the Division Leaders were talking about.

"Quite." It went silent for a few seconds then another question came to mind.

"So...what did you mean by 'them'?" He seemed to smirk before nodding his head over to the corner of the woods. My flashed my gaze to where his head indicated and screamed when a small scull mask darted back behind a tree.

"What is that thing!" I screeched again and clutched at Ichigo's arm. He didn't seem to mind to much as long as I wasn't in the way of his blade. I watched the creature with a keen eye as we made slow pace over the uneven terrain. "What is that thing?"

"A child most likely." At my horrified expression, his softened a bit. "Children are harder to completely suppress. They are still maturing so the child's brain is growing so quickly, fueled by the viruses added growth stimulations, that the virus can't change it in time. Children often look like that if they are exposed to the disease, but they have free thinking minds, able to comprehend and understand things as if a human would. But even as human like as they are, they still are carriers of the virus, and can only be fed far from the village."

"How sad." I muttered, watching the small child clothed in rags dash from tree to tree, often peeking from behind the bark to my companions hair. I met her eye and before she could dart back to her hiding spot, I smiled. Her white teeth flashed and she leaned farther out to get a better glimpse of Ichigo's hair. I pointed to it and she nodded. "Quit playing with it, we have to go."

I pouted and before the little girl could scamper off into the forest, nodded to her with my head. She giggled and Ichigo frowned down at me. I whistled and he sighed and rolled his eyes, telling me that if she would follow us all the way back to the camp.

"Your hunting for her. I'm not feeding her." He claimed and marched forward. But when it came to lunch time, he sharpened a spear and caught fish, enough for four people. When it came time to continue moving again, he left the fire to cook and a whole fish left on the spit.

The child returned to our side less than half an hour later. I smiled and Ichigo scoffed, muttering about letting me keep pets.

"So...this is the dullest thing I think I've ever done and I was raised in a bubble." The little child's tinkling laughter erupted from a nearby tree and was quickly shushed.

"Just wait till we reach the Clearing. Lets see you loose interest in that." He had put his knife away ages ago, the slashing noise it made had frightened the child. Now we both had to lift the vines away from our faces.

"So what's so important about this Clearing?" My tone was a wee bit condescending.

"It's going to be our only ticket to the UpperTops." He informed me and I was confused.

"The whats?" A particular branch smacked my leg and I let out a squeal. Ichigo found this funny and so when he laughed, so did the small child tucked away safely in a low hanging branch. He glared at the densely packed bundle of leaves from where the giggling originated before looking back at me.

"It's the upper layer of the trees. They look normal from this perspective but just wait till you see the very tops." His smile curved his cheekbones and made the mask stretch across his face. "I can't wait till you see 'um."

"See what?" I asked warily. It was less than fifteen minutes later at I got my answer.

Huge shoots flowering with pretty green buds were situated in a clearing made when a huge tree collapsed in on itself. The trees around it bended and reached to get to the sunlight that so rarely reached the ground. Scattered on the dead and decomposing leaves were small saplings, their small brown arms reaching towards the sun. At their tops were small dish-like basins.

"What are these?" I poked at one and watched as the once still water shook from my touch. He promised to explain once we reached the top. "You mean we have to climb these thing?!"

"It's quickest this way. If we traveled on foot it would take weeks, and there is less chance of predators up there. Plus, the surrounding trees wont let you climb them. Pick your shoot, and choose wisely." He winked at me before picking the top of his mask off and tucking it safely into the folds of his jacket.

He crouched down and I muttered a 'What is gods name do you think you're doing?' And before he could so much as blink, his legs propelled him forward and he launched himself at the still shrub. I thought he was over doing it, trying to show-off. And that's when they started moving.

Not a great thrashing like they portrayed in the movies but a wiggling that seemed to shake Ichigo's hold. Once, his hand slipped about halfway up and he caught himself by digging his knife into the creatures fleshy skin. This only enraged the beast-plant, and the the thing tried fruitlessly to shake off the man clinging to its side.

Ichigo reached the top and the plant, in a last ditch effort to kill the menace climbing its roots, bent away from the top of the trees. He let out a growl of displeasure and the mask made it sound like an animals snarl. I could see the stupid idea that flashed in his eyes even when he was so far up.

His legs coiled and his arms tensed and I watched in complete horror as he sprung from the plants stem to a neighboring branch. The shoot gave a resounding groan and stiffened back up, seemingly happy to be rid of the pest clinging to its sides. His voice took a while to carry down to me.

"Your turn!"

"Like hell! Can't I like, climb that!" My tone was shrill and his chuckle bounced off the trees.

"Come on princess!" I watched as he clambered up the outer branches and disappeared into the thick foliage. "You can't climb the vines and lower branches, they are way more nimble than the shoots and will throw you so fast you'll get whiplash."

"Did you really think I could make it up there. I ran away with a madman!" I screamed and gripped my roots, trying not to pull my hair out. He swung down from a far out branch, upside down, his legs locked around the bark as he bobbed back and forth.

"You should have listened to your mother and married the doctor."

"Hardy har har." I took a deep breath, muttered a slur of curse words, and sprinted at the stilled, green trunk.

**If any readers have questions, message me and I'll try to answer them!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

My vision was going blurry and my fingers clutched at the plants ridges. I fumbled upwards, reaching for the next grove in the beasts pointed sides. I just had to make it a little bit farther then Ichigo would grab my hand and we would swing off into the sunset like a post-apocalyptic Tarzan and Jane.

My foot kicked upward and the shoot leaned backwards, making my legs start to lose their grip. I screamed and then felt stupid when that just enraged the creature more. I could almost hear Ichigo's yells over my own.

"WHAT?! CAN'T YOU TELL I'M KINDA BUSY?!" I screamed, almost as angry as the plant when he laughed. I wrapped my legs around the shoot and held on till the plant tilted the other way, trying to shack me off. I listened and waited for his signal.

"NOW!" He screamed and when I refused to follow his plan he started yelling at me. "JUMP!"

"NO!" I replied and as the root swung his way, I could hear his angered growl. "IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER, I WAS BORN IN A BUBBLE. I. CAN'T. CLIMB. MOVING. PLANTS!"

He grumbled and I watched with wide eyes as the shoot swung back and forth and he prepared to clear the distance. Before I could tell him I was coming, he jumped from his perch in the treetops and clasped the nearest spike to still be able to shimmy his way down to me.

"YOU HAD BETTER HAD A GOOD REASON FOR MAKING ME DO THIS." His face was flushed and his coat tails fluttered as we spun around. He shot me a glare that said that if I threw up, bodies would drop.

"BUBBLE!" I screamed again, using the word for my justification. He growled again, using the knife to slide down the plants skin. It shot around faster, causing me to grip more tightly to the small crevasse that held me to its side.

Ichigo dropped down beside me, his hands reaching around my waist, bunching in the fabric so he could have a better grip and so he would not drop me. At least I hoped that was his reasoning. Lodging his shoes into the squirming creatures side and pulling himself up, he inadvertently took me with him.

We reached the treetops and the dark shadow that was cast over the forest floor vanished and was replaced by bright sunlight. I blinked and readjusted my mask to make sure it would not pop off.

"What the _hell_ are those?" I asked, my voice little more than a whisper. He laughed and threw his hands out, as if introducing me to a crowd.

"These little buggers are how the trees grow so tall!" He explained. The treetops were little more than giant rings, huge pools that held water. They rippled and swished in the gentle breeze, moving to and fro, and I watched in complete awe at armored birds that circled the lip surrounding the pools, plucking at the dead and dying plant matter curling at the edged of the containers.

"They hold water for the trees. Up here, the water can fuse with the nitrogen and the tree can digest it easier than directly from the air. That's why the grow so tall, they are trying to get to the nitrogen in the atmosphere; that baby is loaded with the stuff." He laughed and moved forward, walking delicately on the rims, and nodded his head in annoyance, telling me to move forward.

"My brother would have loved is place." The sentence came from my mouth without a thought and I could feel the sickly presence of homesickness capturing my mind. The sadness I pushed far into myself came back, unbeknownst to me, and started sending small flashed and images into my brain. My seventh birthday when he had promised to get me a pony, but when no such animal could be found, he took me down to the lab to let me ride in the large simulation room they had. When I was twelve and fell off the roof while trying to reach my frisbee, he was by my side throughout the stitches. Granted he was on his computer a majority of the time, but it was the thought that counts. Next came my sixteenth birthday when he taught me how to drive and how not to hit the neighbors trash bins.

After that came thoughts of my sister. She was almost always composed, the beautiful woman of the Kuchiki Manor, but I thought of the only time I ever saw her frustrated. It was just before her birthday and she had been trying to get brother out of work just so they could spend the day together, only he refused to leave. She was so angry she cursed him before his higher-ups and then they begged him to leave so that she might not yell at them again. He took us for a picnic that day. The last true happy memory I could think up from the tops of my head was my twenty-first birthday, the day my kind and considerate sister got me drunk. I couldn't think strait for a week.

My wandering mind didn't notice the slight indentation in the bark and when I almost fell in, my eyes shot up to make sure Ichigo didn't notice; I would never hear the end off it. By some miracle, his line of sight remained ahead and I gained my footing again, shifting my mind to making sure that such a slip up would not be made twice.

"So tell me something-" My question was cut off when I started tilting and when I finally regained my balance, I continued. "Why waste all the effort climbing up here if we could have just taken the forest floor."

"What Princess, don't like taking the scenic route? What about all the hullabaloo about taking the road less traveled blah blah blah." He patted himself down, ignoring my rather vulgar responsive comment, and smirked when he was rewarded in his search for his spyglass. "You really want to know the answer?"

"No, I asked for the hell of it." My voice was sarcastic and I hushed myself. I shouldn't let him get to me but when he responded with an explicit reply, my temper seemed to shimmer. "Come on then, humor me."

"It's safer, the worst things that can reach up this high are birds and I can kill them easy enough. It also is good because of the plants that grow to reach this hight. One tree holds the lives of millions." He pointed to a flowering plant popping out form a dense leafy patch in between large pools, its sprouting edges curling from lack of water. Before I could ask what he wanted me to see, the small flower curled in on itself, making a sort of red onion shaped creature. Then it exploded. Three long cables shot from within its body and launched themselves into the pools, the tentacles drinking in the water most likely to store for later. "That is a Crepitus root, evolved from a normal plant to be better adapted to this harsh environment. Just like we have to."

"How do you know so much, you don't really strike me as the intelligent type." He scowled at my remark, looking over his shoulder while also retaining his balance. More questions bubbled into my head and I decided now would be the best time to ask. "How did you live. Before you got captured, I mean, you could metaphorically last for, at most, a week because you can't remove your mask for any reason, even to give yourself sustenance."

"Smart girl." He muttered and I smiled at the complement. He started with his sure to be long winded explanation. "I could make the trip in less than a day if I were alone; when I was captured, I knew I had stayed to long and I was weak, you got that much right."

"Well it looks like you have a guardian angel looking out for you, i mean just look at the beautiful rescue squad they sent." I preened and he just scoffed, kicking the loose bark into the pool and watching the ripples.

"If that's true, then that beautiful rescue party is sure hella late." That remark earned him a good smack to the head, but even he was laughing at my brash reaction. "Don't worry Princess, you're pretty enough to make up for my missing angel."

Even I couldn't be mad at that.

**For those who need a visual on the trees**, ht**0**tp:/**0**/aliens**0**.wikia.**0**com/wiki/Pagoda_Tree, **is the most like what was imagining. Just add some bark to the edges and lots more leaves then you have my thoughts. If you have questions, like always, just ask.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**It's short, but then, so is my time. I've been studying for finals so don't expect to many updates for a few days.**

I munched happily on the fruit, biting into the fleshy skin and wiping the juices from my chin. The pink color was slightly off putting but the flavor was divine. I dropped tidbits after us, watching the small birds peck at it from behind their tiny masks. I looked up to ask about how they could fly like that but he just hushed me with his hand.

"Don't ask. Keep it to yourself." He moved forward, padding over the path with ease. I huffed in annoyance and followed him like a love-struck puppy, coming to his every beck and call.

"Fine. I won't ask how birds can fly with fewer feathers. Instead can I question your navigational skills because they seem to be lacking in most areas." He frowned at me and continued onward, picking his way among the bark, edges, and vines.

"I have taken this path since I was a boy, I could walk it in my sleep." Held his hand out so I wouldn't trip on a particularly hidden knot buried under a small bundle of leaves. "See."

"The only thing I see is an ass who claims to be able to climb moving vines in a state of comatose." He looked over his shoulder with a stolid gleam in his eyes that made the second part of my clever comment die on my tongue. I kicked at the bunch of foliage out of spite before catching up to his fast pace.

"When we get back to the village, I'm leaving you, you know that right?" He uttered and didn't even glance back to see the reaction his words had on me. "I have my own problems to deal with. I'll try to get you assigned to one of the good work programs, but don't go apeshit if you get placed on manure duty."

"What do you mean? You will just push me into a street and send me off with a wave and a pat on the back. I hope you'll feel bad when you find out I was mugged." It was suppose to be a joke but when it ended with my death, the humor shriveled.

"You followed me remember? You should have just left me in the cage, it would have been easier on both of us." He sighed and a slight resemblance to regret seemed to color his tone.

"Do you really think it would have been better if I'd have left you in that prison, well I sure as hell don't. It just would mean that you were still a test subject and I just a girl with a plan to escape an impregnable world. If anything, I should be thanking you." I ran my hand over my shirt to try and press the wrinkles out of it, fruitlessly considering it had become stiff due to body sweat and the sun. I scrunched up my nose in disgust. "Will you really just leave me alone?"

"Look there." He held up his hand and pointed to a spiral off in the distance and I wondered if he even heard my almost silent question. I squinted and brought my hands up to my brow to block out the infuriating sunlight. "It's the Tower that holds up a field around my town. Without it, we would have had to wear the masks day in and day out."

"Wait!" I called, panicking slightly when he started skipping across the tree rims with a practiced precision that only came after years of practice. My plea was lost in the whipping winds and he continued to move forward, forgetting about me. "I said wait!"

I slid to a stop and tried to calm my rapid heartbeat. I was breathing so heavily that my warm exhale made the inside of my mast fog up slightly before it was filtered out. My hair joined the wind in its rapid movements, hitting the side of my face a few times.

My eyes followed Ichigo's trek to the edge and a scream was tore from my lungs and stolen by the breeze when he leaped from the last pool's brim and onto the waiting air currents.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

When my scream stopped echoing off the nothingness that reached past the treetops, my feet were already in motion. My legs pumped faster than they were used too and then started burning when their oxygen supply ran out. I slid to the edge and crouched down by the rim, leaning over as far as my body would go.

The trees were blocking most of my view but even from my spot, I couldn't spot any orange hued splatter marks. My fingers tightened around the bark and I opened my mouth to scream.

"Ichigo!" My voice was rough and cracked, fraying from my lack of faith in my guides return. "Don't you dare leave me out here to die!"

I screamed a few more times but when the sound of pecking and the single call of a hawk sounded, I knew that I should stop before I made an even bigger fool of myself. I swiped at my eyes with an angry glance at the place he left from before standing up and turning around, unsure of my final destination.

My fingers bit into my fleshy palm as the large patches of leaves to both my sides started moving faster than they should have been if been swayed by the wind. I shuffled backwards, my heels pushing loose rocks into the pools edge and making the once tranquil surface, ripple.

Two masks peeked from the bushes and stood up. I recognized their clothes, the labels and the overall wear and tear of them told me they must have been from Ichigo's village. But another part of me, the more innate instincts, called for a split second of deliberation of fight or flight. My muscles tightened and my fingers curled into fists, my body preparing itself for whatever these not so friendly men were going to throw at me.

"Don't worry, we are friends." They called, tilting their heads to the side and only seemed to emphasize the inhumanness their masks gave to their bodies. I picked my footing carefully, shifting backwards till I came to the edge. "Ichigo sure can pick 'em."

"She would make a nice servant for the King..." One trailed off, not really directing his words at his comrade of at me. "Just come with us sweetheart! We know that you miss your friend so we will take you to him!"

Their words caused a fire to burn through my veins. I could feel my eyes narrowing and I forced my coiled limbs to loosen, and dug through my racing brain for anything that could help me. My brothers training was pushed to the front of my scull and my sisters sass came with it.

"What's going on?" One called as I straitened my back and looked them both in the eye. They seemed more than concerned when I placed my hands on my hips and directed a comment that them.

"While I thank you for that...wonderful offer, I'm going to have to turn you down. I would like to you to inform your superiors that my guide was a rude, obnoxious, ass and if they wish to improve their costumer enjoyment, they can find me six feet under."

They blinked in confusion and looked at each other, seeing if the other had figured out my less the challenging phrases. By the time they comprehended my words, it was too late, and I had already prepared myself for this ridiculous act of complete and utter stupidity.

As I was kicking backwards, the man brought his hand up to his face, like he was holding a conch and was readying himself to blow. He rocked backwards then as he moved forward, a small dart was flung from within his hand and pricked my arm. The world tilted and my once brilliant plan, crumbled as my unresponsive body tilted backwards and off the rim.

My eyes searched frantically and I watched as the slightly raised platform I was planning on stepping of the brim and onto, flew past my eyes. A scream was retched from my throat and I could hear the two men screaming, arguing, on top of the trees.

The world seemed to slow around me, my arms still uselessly flaying to my side but not as quickly as before. Even the very sounds were lowered to a dull roar. I turned my head to the side and screamed again at the closeness of the ground.

A huge mass hit me from the side and we spun for a couple of feet before tumbling to the ground and rolling into the trees. Ichigo took the blunt of the fall, curling my body within his to take the sharp twigs and limbs that shot past us like knives. When our momentum ran dry and we were left breathing heavy on the hard forest floor, I could feel the deep heaves of his chest.

I pushed away and he let me, his arms going slack and his eyes fluttering close. I looked around, noticing that moments after we came crashing into the forest, the small plants took the room and weaved themselves into a mat, hiding our path from prying eyes.

"Ichigo. Are you ok?" I asked, standing up and limping slightly over to him. He remained still and before I got to panicked, he coughed and his breathing became deeper with sleep. "Thanks a lot, you good-for-nothing."

I was getting ready to leave him there, when I noticed a small crack in the edge of his mask. It was tiny, a small slit, but a red button was lighting up under the face. I reached out and gently popped the lip of the top part of the mask, holding it in my hand and watching as the high-tech screen flashed out letters.

"Damages...sustained...repair immediately." I read quietly and for the first time, noticed the leaking oxygen from the crack. The panic that had resided once, returned full-force, and I had to stop myself from looking for a brown bag. "Help! Help!"

My words were not very loud considering the fact that I had sucked my lungs dry from my continual screaming not five minutes before. My body sagged and I hobbled back over to Ichigo, watching the labored breaths he took.

I could feel my damn kindness bubbling to the surface and I let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through my greasy hair. I slid to the ground beside his body and brushed his hair from his face.

"You had better be thankful that you came when you did, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this." I muttered, reaching for the clasp on my mask.

BTS

The annoying buzzing sound had finally stopped and he could feel his legs again. His arm was pinned under something and his face felt lighter than it should have been. He cracked an eye and expected to see the inside of the mask, the black screen and the eye slots, but instead he watched with uncertainty at the crisp treetops and gently wafting leaves.

He shot up, his sword he grabbed from the trees before rescuing Rukia was tightly clutched in his hand. The woods were continuing like normal, the birds sung their songs in the treetops, the animals scuttled around on the ground. He caught sight of the person that was holding his arm down.

Rukia's mass of dark hair was sprawled across the side of her face so he only saw the fluttering of her eyelids. When he crouched down next to her, he held his sword out to stop potential predators. He let out a horrified gasp.

His cracked mask was securely attracted to her face, making her soft breathing sound hard and scratchy. He fingered the crack and sighed, anger and resentment bubbling up to fill his pores. His eyes scanned the clearing till he spotted the top half of his mask hidden under a mass of rapidly growing weeds. The numbers flashed before him, showing him the filtration systems would give out soon if not repaired.

"Damn girl." He had to smirk at her tenacity if not her stupidity. He walked back to her spot and picked her up carefully, holding the small bundle in his arms. His gaze traveled over everything he passed, feeling naked without his sword raised.

When he crested a hill, he spotted two of Azien's men arguing over the death of the woman securely tucked into his chest. His feet swerved and took him to the broad opening in the trees which lead to the large gate protecting the citizens of his town from the hollows that ran around these parts.

He typed in his code and waited impatiently for the numbers to register and the gates to swing open, which they did after a long few minutes. His legs felt like they were lined with lead and the soles of his feet seemed to be turned to jelly.

He felt his grip slacken as exhaustion gripped him and he and his passenger fell head first onto the floor of the Cleansing Room.

**Suppose to be studying. Guess what I'm not doing. Studying. As always, if you have questions, ask away.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach.**

**I really like this chapter and sorry for the crappy checking quality.**

My eyes scrapped open and I looked around, truly expecting some god or goddess to welcome me into heaven. What I did see was a crummy white ceiling and painted walls. My mouth tasted like sandpaper but my hair was washed and the grime of the trip was scrubbed from my skin. I sat up carefully, taking the actions slowly and one at a time so I wouldn't end up face first on the hard looking floor.

My gaze caught the motionless body of Ichigo to my side and I sighed in annoyance. When my knees held my weight, I hobbled over to the table where he was lying and shook his shoulders a bit while looking for my clothes.

"Wake up. You're lucky I'm such a nice person and saved your sorry ass. Now I need you to repay the favor and get me out of here-" A scream was retched from my throat when Ichigo groaned and tilted his head, showing me the growth of thick white tar that was slowly spreading across his face. "Oh Ichigo!"

My cry went unheard in the silent room and I looked around until I spotted a table on the far side of the room and closes to the bolted door. My hands turned red from my furious pounding and my throat grew tight with the amount of cries I had let out. I got so frustrated that I slashed my arm out and let my sleeve push all the tables contents onto the floor. That was how I noticed the two clipboards tucked under a pile of useless paper.

"Ok...Ichigo Kurosaki and...Unknown Female Entry." I threw my medical outcomes over my shoulder and flipped into the long packet that was clipped onto the 'Ichigo' board. Most pages were just consent forms and I read over them quickly. "Ichigo they seem to think you are going to turn into a hollow and kill me. How nice."

"Very." He muttered out and I forced my lips to tilt up. While his eyes were still closed his mouth was in a ghost of a smile that vanished when he realized I was trapped in the metal box of doom with him. "You have to leave."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan but the bolted door seems to have a different agenda-" my snarky reply was cut off when a certain word popped off the page and struck a nerve. Ichigo seemed to feel my muscles coil because he bumbled his knee into my back in question. "Antecedent."

"What?" He asked, taking his arm off of his good eye and wincing at me, squinting in the bright lights. "What's wrong?"

"Antecedent is a word doctors use to describe a patient who had a problem before the current problem. That is the word they used to describe you turning into a hollow." My tone was accusing and he sighed at my detective skills. "How the hell are you so calm with this?!"

"Because like you said, this isn't the first time!" He screamed and shot up in bed, leaning over me at my place at his waist. I kept my eyes locked on his eyes and noticed that the virus had already seeped into his irises and turned one eye black. "My mother had the virus. A carrier they called her, not infected, but she stored the virus. She gave it to me. She died when I was a kid."

"I'm sorry." The anger I felt at him leaving that very big chuck of his life out of the equation was soon replaced by an even stronger anger for the asshats that locked us up in this room. "So you will be fine even with-" I gestured at the forming organic mask that was eerily similar to his breathing mask. "-this thing on your face?"

"Slow down sweetheart, I just need to outlast it. It gets a bit violent and I almost killed someone the first time it happened. The only people I know with abilities like mine were banned from this place. I need to sleep now." His words were getting jumbled together and I slapped his face and he snapped up. "I need to get to my god fathers house...it's on the outskirts of town..." His face slackened and his lip was dropping. "If I don't, I might die."

"Like die, die?" He was unresponsive and I could feel the panic welling up in me. I stood and shoot my hands around a bit before thinking up a plan. A stupid plan, but it the people that ran this place were half as stupid as Ichigo, I could trick me with a little smoke and mirrors. I walked over to the door and pawed at it like I was helpless. "Oh help! I'm a scantly clad woman stuck in a small metal box with nothing to do and no one that would miss me if I vanished!"

Some men on their brake scrambled around at the sound of my voice and went silent for a few seconds, seeing if I was not just a figment of their imaginations. I called out again, spewing more nonsense about getting so very lonely. Their keys jingled before I could move onto my fainting act.

The door slid open and I smacked the entering man in the center of his nose. He cried out and his partner was next; I sent him reeling from the punch to the stomach. The first man cocked his arm back to throw a punch but my foot was already brought up and planted into his chest. The air whooshed from his lungs and he landed in a heap on his partner who was running at me with his hand wrapped around a gun.

"Ichigo! Come on!" I called, picking the pocket of one of the man till I found his set of keys and ID pass. I shoved them in my bra for safekeeping and raced back into the room to lend a shoulder to a hobbling Ichigo. We made slow progress across the hallway lined with doors all similar to the one we had escaped from. I could hear a few screams from behind the thick metal. "So...I don't suppose you know a way out of here that _won't_ involve us getting shot?"

"The car repair yard. The clunkers are brought in and melted down for scraps, I'm sure one might still work and we could drive out of here." We was smiling wickedly and I sighed in annoyance at the almost evil gleam in his eye.

"So help me, if we die, I will kill you." While I knew my comment made little to no sense, Ichigo was to gone to notice. I dragged him past the first checkpoint and into the terminal where I had to slash the card and imitate the mans voice into a machine. It gave me the green light and I shrugged my shoulders at my stupid luck. "To bad we can't stop for instructions, huh?"

I didn't expect and answer and didn't receive one. I followed the simple diagram to a pair of double doors. Behind the swinging wood was sparks and flashes of light but the sounds were muffled. Ichigo stirred from his place drooling on my shoulder.

"Oh good, we made it. And we're not dead." He glanced over at me and stared almost entranced at the splotches on my sleeve. "That's always a plus."

"Dear god you drive me up the wall." I muttered and kicked the door open with a bang. I let out a sigh.

The fifty workers stopped their jobs with the large pieces of machinery and watched us with shocked expressions placed on their faces. One screamed when he noticed Ichigo's growing mask and another peed his pants.

"I know this looks really bad-" They rushed us from both sides and I jerked to the left and into the seat of the nearest car. I slammed the door shut and flipped on the necessary dials. The engine hummed and I let out a joyous yell before it stuttered and died. The cry died with it. "Let's move!"

I yanked the sluggish mans arm out the passenger side door and over a few heaps of metal that resembled the mangled bodies of older cars. My bare feet slapped the pavement and I could hear the men catching up. I climbed the growing tower of automobile corpses and I could feel the blood I left behind from my bleeding soles.

"Nowhere for you and your monster sweetheart to go. Just let us have him, and you're free to go. I know he was a lover, boyfriend, husband-"

"Do I look like he is my boyfriend? He is an asshole who got himself into this position because he was trying to save me! I owe him something, even if it is committing a felony." We reached the top and I glanced around uneasily for an escape route. I noticed a fixed up car made from the leftovers of others that was a good ten feet down. "I mean, just look at him! He just looks like a jerk!"

"Well you an't a walk in the park neither!" He slurred and the workers all bristled at his words. He was unaware and laughed at the frightened faces of the mob surrounding us before seeming to notice something. "I don't think they like me."

"Yes sweetheart, I don't think they are too _fond_ of that mask of yours." I took another step back when a broken shard of loose metal stabbed into my foot and I tumbled backwards. I screamed and yanked at Ichigo's hand.

One thing about falling, you never truly get used to it.

A screech was pulled from my sore throat and men bustled over the edge to catch a glimpse at our brains splattered on the concrete but only saw our bodies collide with the stationary car trunk. Our flesh made weird sounds as it connected with the metal but I remained awake and clambered up as fast as my screaming body would allow.

The fall knocked a little thought into Ichigo and he followed my lead, clambering into the cars cab and buckling his seat belt with fear in his eyes.

"I'm putting my trust in a crazy person." He muttered and cried out when I flipped the dial and pressed on the gas. The bald tires spun while trying to get traction and over the screeching I could hear the workers as they tried to block our escape.

Two jumped into the seats of a nearby truck and searched franticly for the keys. My hands shook the wheel and the rubber caught the ground right as the leader was bringing a hammer down onto the diver side window. I could hear his cry when I ran over his toe.

I spun the wheel with a quick jerk and watched Ichigo slide across the seat. I spotted a lowering garage door and switched gears automatically with a fluid precision you only gained from being trained by a Kuchiki. I plowed past the door and ripped the metal hinders right off. In reverse, I spun around and watched the skid marks I left in the rearview mirror slowly fade away along with the disregarded door and the gaping hole left from my exit.

"Who the hell taught you to drive, Satan?" Ichigo asked, and if I didn't know any better, I might have thought he was impressed. He rested his head against the headrest and I noticed the mast was reseeding and vanished within seconds, dissipating into the air. His light snores were the only sound in the car and I smiled and waved at the passerby's shocked faces when they spotted the rather large dent left by our fall on the car trunk.

"I don't know about you, but I think I deserve a _Fast and Furious_ driving montage." I said to the almost silent passenger and a small chuckle informed me he was still awake.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Filler chapter. Enjoy and have a happy Memorial Weekend!**

"Are you sure this is the right place?" I finished buttoning the plaid shirt over the tank top and slid back over the console to land in the drivers seat. Ichigo was tugging a plain gray hoodie over his white shirt and at the same time we took in a deep breath and exited the car.

"Yeah, this is the right place." He said and glanced over at me with concern. I brushed it off and grabbed the grubby hospital gowns from his hand and dropped them in a homeless man's fire. He blinked at the added fuel and smiled up at us as we passed by. "Are you ok?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" I questioned and tied my hair into a small ponytail while simultaneously straitening my stolen jeans.

"We'll we almost died, we stole a car, clothes, and food, and you are looking like you have done his before." His eyes ran up and down my body with a new appreciation and when re realized he was admiring me, quickly took a jab at me. "But you still screamed when we fell."

"I'm sorry! I just jumped off a ten foot cliff onto a car with a half dead man-child and a bloody foot. What did you expect me to do, sing the bloody national anthem?!" I snapped and I could see his face scrunch up as he prepared to hurl an insult back before he realized something.

"Did you call me a man-child; what even is that?" He asked, picking at the scab forming just above the joint of his elbow. It was already healing from, what we assumed was, the virus that was now flowing in his veins. He was lucky, my foot was leaking a strange fluid and didn't show any sighing of stopping soon. "How do you even think to call someone that?"

"When they act like a child in the body of a man, I think to give me such a title." I replied snootily and walked up the creaky steps and up to the dilapidated shack. "So help me, if I get attacked, I'm going to kill someone."

"You're strange, you know that? Most girls would be turning me into the police and demanding to be sent back to their cosy bubble." His words bounced around in my head and as I was formulating a good enough response, I reached into Ichigo's Magic Bag and pulled out a strip of leather holding things needed to pick a lock. "Hey!"

"Well I'm not most girls." I called over my shoulder and tossed the rolled lock picks over my shoulder for Ichigo to place back in his man purse. "I decided that I could be scared and run away and do generally everything I should be doing, or I could suck it up and work on getting home. Besides, your men wouldn't return me home, they would take me to the forest for a firing squad and don't you even try to defend them!"

"When did you grow a pair?" He joked when we entered the hut and went right to work cracking open the wallboards to show the piles of tools and supplies needed to keep us safe for a few days. I walked over to the place he claimed to hide the weapons and was surprised to reach into the hole and pull out a gun like the one hidden in the bottom of my brothers desk drawer.

"Be carful with that!" He called and I made a started gasp as I tossed it into his hands. He scrambled to catch it and when he did he shot me a glare and strutted forward to smack his arm.

"Safety was on, genius." My hands dipped into the bag of rice from the wall and ran my fingers through the grains. They made a pretty noise when the kernels rejoined the pile.

"So you never did full answer my question." I raised an eyebrow as if inquiring which question and he just responded by tilting his head to the side and plastered a dark look over his face. I relented.

"My people wouldn't have me back even if I was in a bubble. So I have to do the only thing is can. I'm going to cure the virus." I could hear water being spit out and watched as the liquid dripped from Ichigo's chin and darkened the chest of his new shirt. "Do you find my goal funny?"

"I find it hilarious! You, cure the thing that has been plaguing humanity for, what, thirty so years? I think you need to lower your standards Princess." He took another gulp and I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

"Well you see Ichigo, I go big or go home, and since the second option is currently unable, I'm going big and I'm going to need you very, very badly. " My flip flops slapped the slightly molded floor as I walked forward and placed a hand lightly on his arm. He stopped drinking and looked down at me with wide eyes. I smacked his arm. "So keep focused!"

I huffed and threw a few items over my shoulder as I trekked back to the car parked across the road. I dug out a crunched and stale bag of chips and I tossed them to the homeless man. He smiled and I placed my finger to my lip and pointed to Ichigo, who was dragging the rest of the load behind him, as if to convey that the man should not tell Ichigo that I had given him food. He nodded and I watched with a small grin as he tucked them into the many folds of his multiple threadbare coats.

"Woman!" Ichigo called but I was more busy fixing the huge dent on the back of our stolen car. He wanted to hijack a new one, but I convinced him to trade the plates, in case they still located people like that anymore, and pickpocket money to buy a few cans of spray paint to hide the strips of metal all fused together that made up most of the cars outer body. "If you don't answer me, then I'll assume you're dead and I should leave."

"Yes Ichigo, I be here. No dead." I dropped my voice a few octaves in an attempt to imitate his deep baritone. My ears caught the sound of the homeless man laughing at our banter.

I hammered the rusty sheets into a semi-straight trunk and quickly banged out the mangled bumper from our collision with the door. Ichigo loaded the materials into the newly fixed trunk and slammed the lid down with a bang and a satisfied growl.

"Hey homeless dude, this car look ok?" I asked and he nodded, holding up a gloved thumb to show his approval. I glanced at black sides that shined with the freshly sprayed on paint and primer. The color was slightly off and I missed a few chunks with the clear coat but overall, it could pass for a normal car.

"Stop! In the name of the Police Force, step away from the car and put your hands over your head!" The three of us spun around to face the poor guy. His hair was black and in his hand was a gun that was much to large for his palm. His whole body was shaking like a leaf and every syllable that came from his lips just heightened in pitch.

"Can we help you officer?" I asked politely, moving a few steps forward much to the chagrin of my partner. The policeman lowered his gun slightly and then switched his aim to me.

"You are the two that escaped from the Facility. I'm going to need to take you in!" He seemed almost sad about it but both Ichigo and I were eyeing up the radio clasped to his belt. My brain was whirling and I thought up a story quickly and plastered the kindest look I could onto my face.

"What, oh no! Me and my...partner are just planing on clearing out all of our old things we hid back when we were kids! I do hope that is not against policy or anything!" I gasped, as if I cared about this place's laws. My 'partner' looked on with a gaze of confusion even when I wrapped a stiff around his arm around his waist. I bit my lip at the officers distrusting look and sighed deeply, as if I was going to confess something. "The truth it I'm..._pregnant_! Yup, that's it!"

The other two men sucked in a deep breath and I could hear the laughter bubbling from both our lips. The officer seemed not to know what to do and it wasn't long after the homeless man caught onto our farce and started chuckling while tending his dying fire.

"Oh! Well I can't very well arrest a woman expecting!" He placed his gun into his holster and smiled apologetically, rubbing his head in shame.

"Thanks! We will just be going back to our...hut...in that...one district!" I called and Ichigo and I slid our way up to the doors and slipped in. This time it was his turn to drive and we had a good laugh at the cop and homeless man waving goodby to two fugitives in our review mirror.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Be warned, this chapter is full of true things mixed with fiction. Ask questions if they arise!**

_Four months later_

"Mrs. Nakano?" I looked up from my microscope and noted the small kid half hidden in the doorway. His face was ashen and his hands were shaking but still firmly grasped the envelope in his finger. "I have the test results you wanted. The nitrogen supplicant worked."

"Really?" I asked, hopping down from my chair and walking over to the med student. The file was slim in my palm and I flipped through the outcomes with a small smile before thanking the kid and clanking my heels back across the floor and to my station. With my free hand and grabbed my swipe card from my purse and checked out of the lab.

"Goodnight Lin." I waved at the big man stationed behind the desk as security and then searched for my phone in my many pockets. I found it in my coat and yanked it from the folds while jabbing at the unlock button on the rusty car in the lot. When I reached the door I tossed my things over the back and pressed the call button on the cell and waited till Ichigo picked up.

"Hello, Ling Nakano, how may I help you?" His deep baritone seemed deeper over the crappy speakers and I laughed at how formal he sounded.

"Yes Ling, I think you better get home, Lin Nakano has found something you might like to see." I whispered, barely able to keep my news to myself. I could hear him stumbling over the line and his muttered goodby before the call was dropped and I tossed the phone over the console and into my growing pile of junk.

Just after I threw it, the cell started ringing from under the wrapper of a fast food hamburger. I clawed at it while flipping my turn signal on and spinning the wheel to the right to avoid the speeding HoverBikes. My fingers fumbled with the Allow button and pressed the metal to my ear.

"Mrs. Nakano here. Can I inquire who is calling?" I said smoothly, the lie sliding over my tongue like butter. The fake name had thrown me for a bit, but came more naturally after use.

"It's Kisuke Urahara with Research and Development. I was made privy to the source knowledge that you have mad a breakthrough with your work on the Bio-mechanical outlook of the molecule responsible for the Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria. I would like you to come in and explain your hypothesis and findings tomorrow, if that won't be to much of a problem."

"Oh no! I be there at nine sharp!" We hung up just as I pulled into the driveway and spotted Ichigo leaning against his legally bought truck. His ever-present frown deepened when he saw my car. I clicked the lock as I got out and tugged my purse with me. "Don't give me that disapproving look!"

"I hate that car. I wish you would let me trade it in; the carburetor is a hunk of junk and the cold fission reactors are shot, not to mention the Pyrite rods are done for!" He banged on the hood and I smacked his hand away with a growl and a glare.

"Don't knock my car! This thing got us out of the Facility and is the closest thing I have to a friend." I snorted and made sure my files and folders didn't get crinkled as I walked up the steps and into the house.

"I'm glad I'm your fake husband but not your real friend. And to think, I though my _friendship_ was what got you through these tough four months!" He held his hand to his chest in mock hurt before frowning at my lack of a return insult. "Shit, whatever you needed me to see is serious. I've never seen you miss a chance to insult me like that."

"I need to cut myself out of this skirt so please set up the dining room for supper and get me a glass of water please." I muttered, rolling my shoulders and smiling when I heard the tap kick on. I dragged my weary body through the house.

The living room walls were painted with neon colors by request of Ichigo wanting a place to bring his work buddies over for Tuesday night poker. He said it was to better our cover but I think he liked the men that he worked with on the Karakura Police Force. While the vibrant walls were slightly irritating at times, the bedroom, which I personally decorated, was a shade of olive green with a matching comforter.

I chucked my heels into the corner and ran a hand through my shortened hair. The strains brushed my jaw and tugged down at my skirt until the fabric piled on the floor and my blouse followed it. I padded into the shared closet and moved hangers aside until I found a clean pair of pajama pants and a shirt of Ichigo's.

"You seemed a bit stressed." I heard him murmur from behind me and I looked over my shoulder as I slid the baggy shirt over my head and held my hand our for the glass of water. Instead he placed a few pills into my palm and the cup in the other. "Just for your headache."

"Thanks..." I replied and trailed after him and out to the plush couch where he sat down and handed me the files and folders. His hands folded into his lap and tilted his head the side, ready for another lecture from me on the theory of gravitational mass or slideshow of the growth of infected algae like I would normally show him when I got home. "I was so exited by this news but now it seems as if all the energy is drained from my reserves."

"Explain what you can. I might turn in early too." His eyes fluttered close for a second before opening and staring at me. I watched his deft fingers trailing a loose papers edge.

"Ok. I start with the bacteria with no real name. It's main purpose in our atmosphere was to filter the nitrogen around the cycle." I pulled out the InvisiBoard and drew a Nitrogen Cycle with bunnies as the major points. I heard him groan at my pictures. "So imagine if we could take the chain of molecules that make up this Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria and stop them from mutating when coming into contact with the virus. If we could just spread them across the world, in a few years they environment would heal itself!"

"Then why isn't it being done?" He questioned, raising his hand in mock interest. "Because to the untrained ear, me, this sounds like a whole lot of hullabaloo."

"First, don't ever use that word again, second, its not just some thought, it might really work if we could just find _some_ way to surround the bacteria well enough until they develop a good enough resistance to the virus. Every thing we try just ends in failure." My high was slowly draining at Ichigo's sigh and his distinct lack of interest. "You know, you could at lease pretend to be completely fascinated."

"That would require effort I don't see fit to give at the moment." He muttered, shoving his head into one of the couch pillows.

"I'm your fake wife dammit; you have to pretend to listen to me." I planted my hand on my hips and I glared at him till he relented and peeked an eye out from under the cushion.

"Yes Mrs. Nakano." He mocked and I thought back to the first time we were asked our names. He seemed to be reminiscing as well because he was chuckling while looking at me. "The look on their faces when I said my name was Ling and you said yours was Lin."

"I though we could be brother and sister! They though we were married, its not my fault that siblings don't live together in your community! Stop laughing!" I scolded but was giggling myself at the thought of the poor neighbors and the confusion we put them through when we first moved in. "I was lucky to get hired right away."

"I have to say, when you said you wanted to get to get rid of the virus, I though you were a delusional child-" His insult was cut off by my angry gasp and he just smirked before continuing. "-but I think you might just pull it off."

"You doubted me? 'Course I'll do it." My voice was reduced to a whisper and I scooted over quietly next to him before resting my head on his shagging shoulder. Four month with a person who is your partner in crime, your fake lover, and your real friend can change a person.

"Never. I may have felt a little worried. But never doubtful. You're to self assured to be doubted." He spoke softly before a light snore rumbled from his chest, the sound soothing and familiar. So much so that I drifted off to sleep within the minute.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"You must be Kisuke." I noted and held out my hand to shake. He just laughed and waved me forward and into his lab. My heels clacked noisily on the tile as we made our way over to the class. Their eyes followed our progress with a tired laziness though I caught a few sensual stares I promptly ignored. The podium was the only thing indicating the difference in rank between the students and me, I was a graduate and they were still in school. "Hello. I'm here to talk to you about my Theory of Nitrogen Adaptation."

I glanced over a Kisuke only to see him making kissing gestures at the student teacher sitting at the back of the room twirling her hair. My sigh was amplified from the small microphone and the kids laughed. My temper was a short fuse and after the crummy morning with burnt toast, cold coffee, and sour milk.

"Take your top off!" One boy yelled, earning himself a few catcalls and dog barks. A boy sitting next to him patted his back and made a phone from his hand before mouthing 'Call Me'.

"Listen here you ungrateful pigs, I have had one hell of a day and I don't care for your obscene gestures and sexual innuendos. I have worked my butt off to get where I'm at and look at you! You got into one of the best classes taught by one of the best teachers, and look at you, a bunch of immature jerks!" Their shocked faces only added to my rage. If I took the time to insult someone, they should at least have the decency to understand it. "I have a theory that, if it works, could decimate the virus and allow you to go outside! But I'm sure you're all to busy with your pitiful lives to think behind the fact that you live in a bubble. Have any of you even seen the outside?"

I watched their eyes dart around to the other class mates but if anyone had made the trek, none stepped forward to admit it. My hands were curled in on themselves and I could feel the places where my nails dug into my palm.

"I have. I got stuck out there once and if it wasn't for my...husband...I would have died. I don't know about you but I think we might need to fix that." My rant came to a sharp end and I could hear the clapping of the purple-haired teaching assistant and the laughing of Kisuke. "Now, I will get on with my speech. Feel free to take notes."

Their heads bobbed and many reached into their bags to grab unused notebooks and unsharpened pencils.

"My theory, while still just an idea with scientific backing, should, over a course of a few years, clean the atmosphere. The nitrogen particles now in use are specially bred to be unresponsive to the contents of the virus's genetic makeup." I could tell I had lost a few people so i lowered my word count and though of a better explanation. "Now to better understand this process I need to explain the cycle and to do that, lets use a metaphor. Imagine the world is a fish tank. Within that fish tank their is a nitrogen cycle much like the likes of our world, in which dead plant and animal matter are decomposed and their minerals and such are recycled and the nitrogen cycle begins."

"One question," A girl asked, her perfectly plucked eyebrows scrunched up into a single line across her blemish-free forehead. When I nodded she continued. "So when we die we will be added into this cycle?"

"Yes. All living things. Anyway, as I was saying, the nitrogen moves all over the place from water to people. Right now you are breathing in the same atomic compounds as the trillions of things before you." I glanced around and noticed that most of their eyes were focused on me and not on their friends or devices. "Now that we got that down, I'll move onto the complicated part, try to keep up.

"The nitrogen in this dome was cut off from the other nitrogen outside so it wouldn't be contaminated and as such, has very little to cycle through. If I take this nitrogen and get it to build a resistance to the virus, I can release it and others like it into the atmosphere and in a few years, the world will cure itself. Questions?"

"How long will it take for the nitrogen to build the resistance?" A boy asked and tapped his pencil on his mouth while he waited for me to respond.

"It could take...years." I sighed and watched as their faces fell. "Or days. That's the thing about this science, we lost most of the data from our predecessors so we are clinging onto strings here. The virus could overtake all the nitrogen or vise versa, the pure nitrogen could over power and cure the virus in small doses."

"So why don't we just release a bunch of nitrogen into the world?" A girl asked.

"We can't spare it. It's not like we can just make it, it cycles through, and we need as much as we can get in a giant dome, not to mention if the plans to relocate the Citadel's residence comes through, we will need all the oxygen we can get." I sighed and watched as a few of the struggling kids faces glowed with realization. I watched a small girl in the back tentatively raise her hand. I pointed to her.

"What about the people affected with the virus." With her question the exited hush dulled and curious eyes landed on me as a rubbed my neck. I had wanted to avoid this question.

"We studied the effects of pure nitrogen on birds and mice and the cleaned air seemed of have no effect." My answer caused disease to flutter over the crowd. "But, that doesn't mean that you always completely lose the one infected. I met a child that was infected but could read and write and acted just like a normal kid could. I know a tribe of three who survive in those woods who are infected."

"But not all are like that." She asked, her wide brown eyes pleading for truth. I licked my lips and shook my head.

"No. Most cases don't show such results." The kids deflated faces made my stomach drop.

"Was it really that bad?" Ichigo asked, slamming his beer bottle on the side of the table to get the lid off. I watched the flimsy metal pop off and spin onto the tabletop. "So what if people are stupid and get infected, big deal, happens all the time."

"You got infected." I pointed out, tipping the glass back to get the last off the wine before taking the offered bottle from Ichigo's outstretched fingers. He stated at me stoically before standing up to get ready for bed.

"So Mr. Ling, what are your plans for tomorrow. We both have off, I was thinking about world domination." My snarky comment was responded by a laugh from the closet as I walked over to the couch.

"I was thinking about inviting over the boys, if that's all right with you. Kon seems to be completely smitten with you." He strutted out of the bedroom and made mock swooning motions before plopping down onto the couch next to me in threadbare Flash sweatpants and a plain gray shirt. "Can you make that dip like last time, that was good."

"I'll see if we have the ingredients." I muttered and reached over his chest for the remote before laying back and resting my bare feet in his lap. His days of complaining had since passed and now he just pulled the lever to open the footrest and trailed his fingers up and down my ankle.

"What's on?" He asked and I glanced over to see his eyelids drooping.

"'I Love Lucy' reruns and some drama about nurses." I clicked through all three channels before stopping on the black and white programming, the only real relic used from before the virus came.

"It's really unbelievable." He muttered and looked over at me. His eyes were glazed over and I doubted he would even remember our conversation in the morning. "We survive the freakin' apocalypse and in the years after one of the first things to get working again is the freakin' television."

"I think it was good. Humans require normality and routine in order to feel...I don't know... Whole, I guess." I scoffed at my bad definition and tried again. "Tv need to be set up because we needed to know that not everything in our world could be changed by the virus. You get it Ichigo?"

I think it was safe to say he most certainly did _not_ get it considering the amount of drool dripping from his lower lip onto the couch.

**Hey remember me! No, probably not considering I haven't updated in like weeks. Sorry.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"Aw man Lin, this dip is great!" Renji called from the living room where Ichigo and his buddies were playing poker. He glanced over at his wife who was reclining on the couch, flipping through the same channels over and over again. "Why don't you ever bake?"

"Sweetheart, I love you and your bottomless pit of an appetite, but I burn water." She muttered running a hand through her black hair. I laughed and picked up the dishes from the pizza they had ordered. Ichigo ruffled my hair on my way past him and I promptly spilt the remaining dip into his lap.

"Ru-!" He caught himself from saying my real name and instead just let a string of curse words slip for his lips to distract from his mess up. When he stood to change, I followed him into the bedroom with the intent to chew him out.

"What the heck was that?" I asked, planting my hands on my hips and glaring at him. He slipped his stained shirt off and tossed it into the growing pile of laundry in the corner of the room. When he reached for his pants I sputtered. "I said we could sleep in the same bed for comfort reasons. So help me if you so much as pop a button you're back on the couch!"

"I wouldn't have to do this if someone hadn't thought it would be a good idea to spill crap allover my pants!" He cried then realized what he said. "Not crap, as in poop, I mean crap as in stuff or a mess. I swear."

"Goodness you're exhausting." I muttered, falling back onto the large mattress and listened to the swoosh his jeans made as they joined his shirt on the floor. "You clear?"

"Yes." He called and when I sat up a loose pair of pants rode low on his hips and no shirt could be seen. "So I guess we need to kiss and make-up now."

"What?" I sighed and rubbed my eyes before standing and walking back out to the living room. The boys watched me grab Uryū's pack a cigarettes and drag myself out onto the porch to the collection of laughing wives. The small box felt like lead in my palm and when I rested my elbows on the porch railing, the girls swarmed around me with questions.

"What happened?" Tatsuki asked, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder and bending her head down to look me in the eyes. I just snorted and pulled a cigarette from the box and placed it between my lips.

"I stole your husbands fancy coping method." The statement was directed at Orihime but the other woman just bumped my shoulder in silent understanding. "So what are you up to out here?"

"Having a riveting conversation about how proficient our husbands are in bed." Yoruichi commented unabashedly. She pulled her own lighter from inside her bra and lit the end of the cigarette for me. "We were just taking about your man, in fact."

"What, you want me to tell you?" I laughed and was just too tired to be embarrassed. Orihime, on the other hand, was more then compensating with her beet red face and the ringing of her hands. "Sorry girls, I don't kiss and tell."

"Oh you're no fun!" Tatsuki chuckled and pulled the rolled tobacco from my mouth and took a long drag before handing it back. "The least you can do is give us a little."

"I'm so tired guys...can't this wait?" The convivial mood seemed to die and the women seemed to finally understand the extent of my exhaustion. I fell backwards onto a small rusty folding chair that had been dragged up from the musty basement and took another drag. I watched the bright flare the lit paper made when I sucked in and then blew out slowly, glueing my eyes to the twisting and twirling smoke as it dissipated.

"What's wrong?" Yoruichi asked, all playfulness from her voice, gone. My sigh was low and long and only served to concern the wives more.

"I found out I have lots of family in the Citadel." Not technically a lie. I could feel the sickly feeling of lying to my friends as it seemed to claw its way up my throat. "I just don't know how this dome will handle all those people. I did the math and if they take the people, this dome will fold in on itself in less than a year."

The harsh truth settled around us and the weigh on my shoulders only seemed to grow larger. Orihime frowned and rubbed at her slightly protruding belly and shot scared glances at Tatsuki.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have frightened you..." I let out, yet another, sigh and rubbed the cigarette butt on the wooden railing before throwing it into the middle of the table.

"Forget fear. How more about horror," Yoruichi muttered. "The people in that Citadel will die because the men that run this pathetic government are to narrow-minded to see we need their technology and engineering expertise to help better our way of life."

"We were talking about the new soap opera and here you are discussing intergovernmental politics." Ichigo remarked, leaning on the door frame. He smirked and raised an eyebrow at my slouched posture and cigarette lying on the table before walking over and grabbing a spare chair. He spun it around in his hand and squatted down onto the seat backwards with the backrest pressed into his midriff. "But I want to see what has brought on such melancholy."

"Very poetic." My sarcastic quip was ignored and the girls shuffled from their cramped quarters while giving me kisses on the cheek, like Yoruichi, punches on the arm, in the case of Tatsuki, and a surprise hug from behind from Orihime. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I heard about the whole death to everyone speech. Do you really feel that way?" He sighed, resting his head on his hands and stared.

"Don't go all therapist on me." My fingers twitched and I cursed the smoking habit I had developed over the months with Ichigo. I threw the question back at him. "What do you think of my speech?"

"Well, in _my_ experience, you will come through like you always do." He stood and padded over to the railing before stuffing his hands in his pockets and glancing to the dimly shinning city sprawling before us. "In the end, we will have only each other to rely on and I think that before we run out of oxygen, you will discover a cure."

"What is the saying...Trust among thieves?" I murmured, joining him at his place at the decks edge. He laughed at the saying but nodded all the same.

"Have trust in those helping you with your deception." He rephrased and it was my turn to laugh at the correctness of his words. We both stood ram rod strait and listened to the sounds of laughter coming from the living room. "We should really go entertain our guests."

"You don't sound to exited there." I noted and tugged his hand from his pocket before intertwining our fingers. His palm was sweaty but held a comfortable weight. His eyes never strayed from the landscape but I could feel his pulse jump in his hand and the difficult swallow he took. "Trust among thieves, huh?"

"I don't think our friends in there will be to happy when they learn we really are not Lin and Ling." He dodged the subject and I humored him with a reply.

"They are smart. I think they already suspect something." I confided while tightening my grip on his hand. He seemed not to notice and I continued. "But if my research is correct, they can't be mad at me because I stopped the eradication of the human race."

"On the other hand, we will all be dead, so the way I see it, its a win-win situation." Ichigo joked, bringing my knuckles up to his lips and blowing on them to warm them up. "It's cold. They must have shut the energy off a while ago; we have to send them home before they cut the lights-"

As if his words caused the lack of electricity, the whole city's lights flickered and he bulbs and lamps went dark, prompting a few screams and a lot of knocking things over. We opened the door and tried to lead our friends to the front door without to many injures. Renji fell over the back of the couch and Kisuke almost stepped on a fallen fire poker. Uryū tripped on his wife's foot and tumbled into the dip bowl. Orihime giggled the whole time and latched onto Tatsuki's arm as not to fall on the uneven carpeting. Yoruichi navigated the mess like she had the eyes of a cat.

"Sorry guys, lost track of time, I didn't realize it was so close to Power Down." I muttered, truly apologetic. "But on the bright side, with this system we can have power till 6309."

"You know, if we don't all die." Kisuke slurred out, wrapping an arm around his wife and stumbling down the porch steps and down pt the road where they slowly made their way home, all of their laughing could be heard until they crested the hill and disappeared from sight.

Later that night while we were readying for bed, a question pounded behind my eyelids. I pulled the covers up over my body and turned outward so my back was pressed snuggly against his, just like normal.

"We have each others backs, right?" My light whisper was almost drowned out my the grinding sound of the generators.

"Yes. Always. Dammit, why do we need those stupid machines anyways?" He huffed, hiking the blankets up farther to cover his ears from the loud crunching and sparking the generators made. "It's not like we would die!"

"Actually, we would. Die that is. All those things are trying to warm the artificial atmosphere and compensate for the supercooling of the radiators which produced a pseudo sun."

"God, I will miss your sense of humor after this is all done with." He scoffed, sighing with relief as the machines lulled a bit to recharge.

"What do you mean, 'done with'? Where will I go?" I was confused and flipped over to look at him but only got an eyeful of bare back. I counted the many scars carved into his skin while waiting for him to look at me.

"I just assumed you would go back with your family." I could hear the slight variations his voice made and I knew by the way his shoulders tightened that he was feeling vulnerable; he hated that. "While I on the other hand, needs to find my father and sisters."

I was silent but I brought up my hand and gently traced the outline of the scars with my fingers. I watched as his muscles unwound before my eyes and I trailed the puckered skin from the small of his back all the way up to the center of his sharp shoulder blades. Like someone had operated on him.

"Don't assume everything." I whispered and my bravery seemed to multiply on the small bed we both shared and I leaned forward before placing a small kiss on the worst looking of the healed wounds. His arms bunched and even over the pounding of machinery, I could hear his sharp intake of breath and the pounding of his heart.

I closed my eyes and kept my arms stretched out to brush his skin; to let him know I was close. When I woke in the morning, his position had changed during the night and his face was loose with sleep and unburdened, like a child. He was facing me.

**This was a really hard chapter to write. I don't know why. As always, if you have questions, ask.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"Look at that!" The med student was glancing excitedly into the microscope and jotting down notes on his pad. He glanced over his shoulder often to watch me work. "So you really thought up the theory that the whole scientific community it buzzing about huh?"

"I guess..." I went back to my work, cataloging the number of nitrogen molecules that gained the evolutionary process that made them able to over take the infected ones and cleanse them.

"I have a question," He started, spinning around on his backless swirly chair. His white hair was spiked in different directions and his mouth screwed up in thought, most likely finding the best way to phrase his question. "What about all the animals 'n things that have the virus. Will they all just die?"

His question seemed relatively harmless, but his carefree acting was shattered by the sharp look in his eye. He knew the answer but he wanted to see my point of view.

"The creatures that are infected should all be returned to normal but things with better mental process like...dolphins, apes and primates, even whales, could all be lost." I worded my response very carefully and hoped he would let the question drop, but like the girl in the class, he pushed forward.

"You mean humans as well." A cruel twist of his mouth and my quick temper rose to the surface. I stood very carefully and walked over to the boy. He was just a bit taller than I was and when I braced my hands on the counter behind him and leaned forward, so close in fact that the constant smirk seemed to waver, he seemed to be daunted by my slight demeanor.

"Yes. I do. I would prefer you restrain from asking pointless questions you already know the answers to. It would save me time and brain function." He just nodded and spun around to look back into the microscope, the smile still plastered on his face.

"Of course Mrs. Nakano." He replied in a snide tone while not catching my eye. I glanced at the clock and stood up to go meet Ichigo for supper. My bag was thrown over my shoulder and I made my way to the door before stopping and throwing an equally sassy remark over my should.

"Goodnight. Oh, and that's doctor to you."

The air outside was clammy and warm. I pulled my short hair out of my face and started the long walk to the pizza place on the other side of town. The trees were a vivid green and would remain that way all year long, no matter the season. My heels clacked on the old sidewalk and I clutched my purse closer to my body when I passes the Cooling Rooms. They held chilled water used when machinery overheated or a fire broke out. I waved to one of the firemen swirling the large vats and he responded in kind.

A little ways down the path, a large tree had fallen and blocked the path. It was the Police Force's job to clear things like this, but I figured Ichigo must have enough on his plate and refused to call it in.

A few genetically altered butterflies fluttered around on the summer blooms and I held my hand out so the flowers brushed my fingers. My laugh was loud and almost obnoxious. The other park goers shot a few looks in my direction but dropped them when they saw my lab coat and ID badge.

The small restaurant came into view with its tattered awning and little Italian characters painted onto the window. I pulled the door open and the bell rang above my head. Many of the customers turned their heads including Ichigo who quickly waved me over to a booth in the back. As I squeezed my way past other tables I thought about the conversation I had with a coworker that morning.

"Miss. Nakamora thinks I'm a lesbian." Ichigo choked on his water and quickly grappled for the napkin dispenser to stop the drink from dribbling down his jaw. While dabbing at his mouth, he shot me a disbelieving look. "What? She said with my age and profession that I should have kids before I die of radiation, which is preposterous considering I don't even work with-"

"Yeah, that's not the part I care about. What do you mean she thinks you like girls?" He placed an elbow on the table and leaned forward to get a closer look at me. He only backed off when the waitress returned to place a glass of water before me.

"She thinks it because apparently its strange for a woman to be my age without being knocked up by her boyfriend." I waved the waitress over and placed our order. A large pizza with half pepperoni and half cheese. She nodded and left, the smell of her bubblegum lingering behind her like perfume. "She said I had wide hips good for child-birthing."

"Well that's good for future reference." He muttered, swirling his straw in his glass. "For your husband, I mean."

"Of course." I agreed and the conversation cut off on a flat note. I sighed and blew bubbles in my water and watched as they popped at the rim. "So how was your day?"

"Normal. Got to shot my taser at a druggie. That's about it." He glanced over to the small tv stationed on the bar counter. The blurry picture was of a woman covered in makeup and jewelry. While she came in clear it took a few seconds for the old camera to focus on the background which turned out to be the rundown Capitol building.

"I'm Missy May, reporting from the Capitol where the radical decision, whether or not the people of the Citadel should be allowed of enter the city, was just decided. With the vote of nine to four, teams are now preparing to disembark on the recovery mission. The police are also recruiting, asking for trained volunteers to help with the long journey. More news at eight."

"Nothing my ass! You sighed up, didn't you?!" I raised my voice and the other patrons glanced over in our direction with shifty eyes. They seemed to understand what our argument was about and left us to our shouting match.

"I didn't want to worry you!" He defended, throwing his hands up in exasperation. I pushed my chair out and stood, picking up my purse and coat. My heels clacked as I walked up to the bar and asked for the pizza in a delivery box. The woman snickered and nodded, only stopping when I shot her an angry glare. "Oh don't blow is way out of proportions!"

"Killer trees and man-eating swamps. Acidic plants and caniabalistic humanoids! Sorry if I'm overreacting!" I screamed and grabbed the box from the cooling stand, dropping a twenty down on the register. Ichigo came huffing out after me, his police coat flung over his shoulder and his badge hanging down from the shiver chain around his neck.

"Don't be like this Rukia. It's just a mission; it's not like I haven't done it before." He pleaded when we were far enough away from all other people. I balanced the box in one hand and swatted his hand away with the other. He reached for my shoulder again and I raised the box up and smacked his shoulder. "Ow!"

"God you're so clueless! I'm angry because I'm worried about you!" His face flushed red at my comment and I groaned at his ignorance before clomping up the steps and into the house. I could hear his heavy army boots following a few paces behind.

When I got inside I went into the bedroom and pulled the drawers open and close angrily so he could hear it out in the living room where I knew he was because of the noise he was making. The buzzing of an untuned radio hissed to life and from the static came the consistent blare of trumpets and the pounding of drums and cymbals and piano solo. It was about then that the door flew open.

He spun into the bedroom and grabbed my hands in his, letting the swing music drowned out the sound of turning gears and steaming machinery. He then let his hands fall to my hips and he strutted into the living room with me at his side. I pushed at his chest but he held tight, only letting me go to twirl me around a bit before pulling me back snuggly to his side.

I let out a laugh and he laced our fingers together as he spun me out in a wide arch. My shirt flared out and I twisted my body side to side to get the material to swish back and forth. My imagination started to take hold as the old and ratted couch was replaced with the plush velvet of one in a fancy bar or lounge. The throaty words of the vocalist became clearer as we were transported from our cheap apartment to the posh and richly decorated club of the 1920's.

"Do you forgive me now?" He yelled over the music, dropping into a low dip that got us both laughing. A loud pounding on the door broke us from our trance and we realized just how loud the music truly was and shut it off before the disgruntled neighbor went to the police.

**I rewrote this chapter a lot, then forgot to update it. On the bright side, another update to come.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"So how exactly does this simulation work?" My voice resonated in the wide room and the loudspeakers crackled to life. I placed the mask over my mouth and noise and watched as the virtual screen flared to life, mapping out an imaginary expanse of the world outside.

"If you want to join your husband in the retrieving of the Citadel's people, then you have to log 40 hours of training time and pass this test. You have the hours from scientific outings but you have never experienced the harsh walks, climates, and creatures that lurk in the thicker parts of the forests. Pass the test, you get to go." The screen hummed and I turned my head side to side to re-calibrate the picture.

The towering forms of trees appeared and as I shifted a bit to the side, I watched as the picture became fully formed. The grass was clear and I was transported from a large multipurpose room into the forests outside the dome. Of course I wasn't really outside, but the R&D department sure tried their hardest to make it look like I was.

I took a few steps and reached my hand out, expecting to fell air, but my hand connected with rough bark. I gasped in surprise and the mutated bushes around me shuttered like they too were taking in a breath. I spun around and crouched down into defensive position. The Overseers voice spouted from my earpiece.

"Your husband taught you well." He praised, but I was more focused on the small fact that something was heading this way and if I could touch the trees, the beast could touch me as well.

I shuffled back a few feet and planted a hand on the nearest tree. My fingers tightened around the air and I watched a gun materialize in my palm. I had never shot a gun before leaving the Citadel, but after a quick lesson with Ichigo, I had decent aim.

A large cat slunk from the bushes, its long tail swishing in a slow languid movement. Its expressive eyes were the only thing that could be seen on his face besides the white mask that had spread across most of its muzzle and forehead. It swayed back and forth in front of me, taking its sweet time.

I dodged to one side and watched in awe as its muscles tightened and coiled for a spring. The calm rational animal was replaced by a clever beast who knew my moves. All thoughts about the simulation were thrown from my mind when it pounced.

With its bone-like mask, it almost seemed fain to kill me. Again, my ear piece crackled and I tore my heels into the ground before pushing off and sprinting into the thickest and most tangled mass of fallen vines I could find. I dodged a low hanging branch and grabbed a vine, swinging myself up onto the next dipped tree; just like Ichigo had taught me.

I clicked off the safety on my gun and listened for the definitive clack it made to signal it was functional. The beast slid into place a few hundred feet away. My shooting, while better then average, was in no way good enough for that kind of shot. My fingers fumbled with the scope and it slipped through my fingers and I to the thick foliage below.

My head shot up with a snap as the cat craned its neck to see through the leaves. When its sharp yellow eyes locked on me I could hear the quick intake of breath from the man sitting on the other end of my call line, seeing everything the helmet transmitted through a screen in some room.

From this distance, I raised the gun and shot three times, each shot seemed to pound into my ear drums like someone took a hammer to my scull. With the animal injured I kicked off my perch and rolled to the ground, twisting my body so when I came up, my gun was pointed at the place the cat was last at. A growing pool of blood was splayed over the fallen leaves and I watched as a single drop fell into the puddle and it rippled. My head slowly looked upward and spotted the glowing eyes high up in the branches.

"Oh shi-" My curse was cut short by the monstrous growl the creature let out, frightening the nearby birds and startling anything and everything else. I spun on my heels and raced into the nearest bushes.

With the blockage, it made the creatures movements hindered and I could hear the padding of its feet getting farther and farther away. When I slowed to a stop, I finally understood that the Overseer was yelling at me.

"What the hell was that?!" Cheering was coming over the line and the man was laughing hysterically. The virtual forest melted and was slowly replaced with large textured pillars and motion activated clones. I took in the fact that I was a good half-mile away from my starting point. My fingers went numb and I saw the plastic toy gun rusting in my palm.

A hidden room placed into the highest reaches of the wall lit to life and I saw the twenty people manning the simulation device stand and clap. I bowed and I could hear their laughs over the still open communicators.

"Where did you learn that?" I girl yells and I just laugh and make the long walk back to the front door. Most of my admirers have stopped cheering but are still laughing and asking questions through their supervisors headset.

"What did you think we did on those scientific outings?" I joke, popping the latch off my mask and listening to the hiss it made when separating from my skin. Ichigo promised to get a new one made just for me one day. I hadn't told him about the test when he left for work this morning. If he knew, he would go apeshit.

"So can I go?" I called, placing the face mask under my arm and watching the man in charge nod once. My victory scream was a little louder than I should have been but with the help of a happy dance, I was able to let go of my pent up joy.

I raced back to the lab, throwing my hair into a bun and flapped my arms around a bit to get rid of the sweat that had accumulated under my arms during the simulation. I yanked my slightly wrinkled lab coat on over my tights and workout top; my normal work attire wouldn't cut it out in the wild.

As I turned the corner I bumped into a man and almost fell backwards if it weren't for his quick thinking and reflexes. His hand wrapped around my upper arm and when I regained my footing I couldn't look Ichigo in the eye.

"Hello." I muttered, looking around the room at the ugly paintings and science based sculptures. Anywhere but at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I just might ask you the opposite." He accused, placing his hands in his pockets of his police uniform. His brown eyes were hard and he slipped a hand under my chin to raise my face to his. "The reception lady said you called in that you would be late. You left the house at your normal time."

"Maybe I just wanted to be alone for a bit." I defended, pushing past him to get to the large swinging doors; doors Ichigo didn't have clearance for. I glanced over my shoulder and flinched when his hand caught my wrist. "What?"

"So it's just a coincidence that the tests for the outing are today." He questioned and I knew he knew. I sighed and noticed the reception lady watching us like it was one of the three soap operas that played on daytime television. "I'm not stupid!"

"I'm not questioning your intelligence!" I tried but that just seemed to rile him up more. He threw his arms up and spun around to run a shaking hand through his hair before twirling back around and a helpless look had seeped into his eyes. "I thought you would want me to come. I need to come. That's my family they talk about, on the news, in the people's pointless blabber. I need to come, weather you think so or not."

"We aren't taking the short route, like we did. In order to transport that many people, we have to make the whole journey on the ground and that means the Pass." I raised an eyebrow and he just sighed again. It was then I noticed the thick rings around his eyes. I frowned and took a step back, seeing he had lost a few pounds since the last time I examined him.

"What's wrong Ichigo. _Tell_ _me_."

"The pass is simple enough for someone with our skill set but for an unarmed man or woman from the Citadel-" He didn't have to finish the sentence for me to get the picture. I sniffled and I could feel the tears building up and I huffed in annoyance. "Oh don't cry! I hate it when you cry!"

"I'm not crying!" I rubbed at my blurry eyes and roses my arms over my chest. When I took in a breath and it rattled, Ichigo clamped his hands on my shoulders and slid them up to cup my face. I wanted to smack them away but I feared that if I raised my arms that I would start bawling again. "So... Survival of the fittest."

"Hey, hey, it will be fine. I will protect your family." He promised and I looked up at him in confusion.

"What are you taking about, I'm going with!" I demanded and he took a step back from shock.

"You mean you really passed?" I snorted at he lack of faith and handed him the ticket the doorman gave me after completing the course. Ichigo looked up and held it up to the light.

"It's real you dumbass. I'm going and there is nothing you can say to change my mind." Through the months, we had both become very aware of each others quirks. One of Ichigo's is thinking he has to carry the weight of all those he cares about. One of mine could be the unshakeable determination I occasionally have.

"This is no walk in the park, Rukia." He whispered my name so the woman watching the portable tv at the reception center couldn't overhear. "This has truly mutated people, driven mad by the virus. You may be able to kill an animal, but what about the beast hidden in the skin of a person, could you pull the trigger?"

"I would do whatever it takes to protect the ones I hold dear. That sound like anyone we know?" He just smiled sadly and nodded before letting his head drop back and sighing again. "What's the matter Ichigo, you don't look so good."

"It's just a bug going around." He assured, rubbing at his swollen eyes and bruised lids. He took one more look at me and pleaded one last time. "Please don't go."

"Don't worry sweetheart, if you're scared, you can always come running to your wife." He laughed but it sounded almost hallow. He was running himself ragged over this. My confidence was quivering but I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and pushed myself up on my tip toes before placing a small kiss at the corner of his lips.

His eyes widened and he watched me with confusion and shock but I was happy to see the bright flush of color in his face. I ignored the tingling feeling left on my lips and waved good by, throwing a comment back over my shoulder.

"Get better again and maybe you'll get another." His deep laugh trailed me all the way into my lab and resonated in my head for the rest the day.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

The ventilation shafts were narrow and tightly watched by security drones. This was the only way to make it in and get to the Emergency Signal Station. Once there, we, Ichigo and I, were to set off the alarm and the flood of frightened people would race to the loading docks to get out. That was where the other six teams of two came into play.

They had the tenuous job and cracking the docks air locks and getting in before the mass of people got out. From there, they would seek out the leaders, strategically placed at the front of the crowds, and explain to them the situation.

"What are you thinking about?" Ichigo asked, wriggling his arms to squeeze into the small space. I followed a foot behind and sighed, regretting it immediately when a cloud of dust was sucked into my lungs and blown back out into a cloud.

"The plan. I'm just going over it in my head." I assured him, tearing my eyes from his bottom that was before me. I sneezed and wished I had never clipped my mask to my belt when we entered the air vents. "I wish I had my mask."

"You're not the only one." He laughed, crawling forward a bit more and glancing back a few times to see if I had fallen behind. Suddenly his face got all serious and he lowered his voice. "You did well on the trip here."

"Careful, if you sound a bit more proud, someone might actually think you were complimenting me." I joked while hooking my boots onto the vents bolts to hoist myself up the 90 degree swivel. "Who makes pipe like this?"

"The original builders, I guess." Ichigo responded, scampering up the bolts like a child on a jungle gym and leaving me in the dust. "So I heard that your research hit a kink."

"Hit? No, more like slammed into or...or..demolished on impact." I fumed, focusing my anger on my hands and tightening my grip on the metal walls. Ichigo scoffed which was Man-Talk for explain. "I thought they might just heal themselves, but apparently they need to get up into the atmosphere first. I need to get them right at the source."

"Is that a problem?" He asked, gasping when a hand slipped but quickly regaining balance. I growled and nodded.

"Big time. It's not like I have a spare rocket lying around. NASA was demolished so its not like they might have one, and so I'm out of luck and...and...and I don't want to talk about this anymore. Complement me again." My demand went unheard over the rattling of the cooling systems powering up. We scrambled up faster. "Speed it up!"

"This isn't a walk in the park!" He yelled and I listened for the beeping of the lid that meant the door to the Emergency Signal Station was open but the only sounds reaching my ears were irritated beeps. "They changed the codes!"

"What?!" I demanded furiously, snapping at his heels like a mad dog. He tried again but the same beep came and I peeked around he wide chest to look at the flashing red lights. They blinked and looked to be eyes, watching us as we froze to death in an air vent. "Move!"

I scurried up his side but instead of him going down as I had planed, he pressed himself into the side of the vests and when I tucked my chest into the space, he released his hold and crushed us both in an unwanted bear hug.

"You're an idiot!" I yelled, smacking at his vest while trying to type in the given code for that week. When I got the same outcome as Ichigo, I cried out and let my tired body rest back against the chilling metal.

I fruitlessly tried to ignore our position but it was getting quite hard as the cooling metal tightened and we got progressively closer. I grunted and clicked the keypad a few times, entering in meaningless digits but getting nowhere. Our breaths mingled in the tight space and I could smell his minty mouthwash in the air just as I was sure he could smell mine.

"I think dropping to our deaths would be more effective then being crushed." Ichigo tried, the sarcasm leaking into his tone and making me want to slap him if I'd the room. My eyes fluttered close as I racked my brain for possible ideas but the only thing that came out of my mouth was a little morbid.

"At this hight we would only end up bloody and broken waiting for the metal to crush us." I shook my head and cracked an eye to see his agape mouth and drown together brows. "I don't know where that came from."

He just nodded and braced a hand behind my head to support some of his weight as to not crush me. My fingers massaged my temples as numbers and possibilities flashed behind my eyelids.

"This is an automatic door, meaning it should have a default code for maintenance and repairs done by different men and woman. They sometimes left the code around the door, mostly on a sticky note. I overheard them taking about getting a door like this for my brothers safe." Once my sentence was finished we both settled our feet onto the steadiest of posts and reached our hands around. Our headlights sputtered and dissipated, leaving us to grope around in the dark. Ichigo's sigh blew over my ear and left goosebumps spurring to life all over my body.

"Did the men say where they left the note?" He asked, starting to sound flustered. The metal constricted more, the only thing to slow its process was our body heat. Body heat.

"We need to get warm!" I huffed, moving my chest a bit only to get pinned to the wall by Ichigo's chest. I brought my hands to rest to both sides of me and noticed the glowing of his eyes in the dark, their rich brown seeming to melt into a sinister yellow in the lowlight.

"And just _how_ do you suppose we do that?" He asked, his head lowered so I couldn't even see the outline of his jaw in the light thrown off by the blinking red lights. His voice was lowered and his words seemed to be forced out. "Spontaneous combustion?"

"That's a physical impossibility." I muttered, shifting my leg and shivering when my thigh brushed his. He sucked in a gasp and his broad shoulders shrugged backwards, causing his other free hand to slam into the wall behind my head to steady himself. With his exhale my words started spewing out of my lips. "Unless the person had significant body fat that would ignite when covered in an accelerant, causing the body to burn in a contained perimeter."

"What?" He sighed, flinching when the metal gave another groan. I sputtered in embarrassment and started stuttering out an answer. "No, not your whole human torch thing, the idea of warming up. If we can heat the walls a bit, we might be able to get a bit more room."

"And, as you so nicely put it, how do we do that?" I asked, wanting to plant my hands on my hips but was refrain from our tightly packed quarters. He just laughed and leaned forward a bit.

"Many ideas come to mind." My hand managed to smack his underarm but it got lodged between his shoulder blade and neck when I tried to bring it back to my side. Now we both were suspended midair, our feet planted on large screw heads and our hands clutched tightly to the metal behind each others head.

"Don't take this the wrong way, perv." I whispered, my voice cracking on last syllable. Even in the dim lighting, I could see his brightly colored brows knit together in confusion as I released a hand from the wall and placed it on the back of his neck.

"What are yo-" I pulled his face closer and our lips brushed together. He gasped but I watched his eyelids flutter shut and I followed his lead. My free hand laced with his hair, grown longer from travel and time.

His lips pressed tightly to mine and then trailed down to my neck, nibbling and sucking at the little skin exposed. The temperature of the enclosed space rose and our warm breaths caused the cool walls to produce a thin mist, coating our wandering hands.

My fingers traveled over his back and then up to his strong neck. I could feel the puckered skin from past scars on the flesh and the raised lines marking one of the many tattoos I knew he had.

I brought his face back up to mine and we kissed again, ignoring the wildly beeping machines and the popping of metal that was warmed to quickly. I placed my palm on his cheeks and outlined his strong nose, slightly crooked from the time he was nine and he fell of his skateboard, his eyebrows, uneven from last Christmas when his sister accidentally burned one of them off, and finally his lips, the top a bit fuller then the bottom. He waited patiently as I examined his face in the darkness.

He took the time to let his fingers trail up and down my sides, sending a shiver to my toes and causing my legs to turn to jelly. My touch seemed to have the same effect on him.

In the darkness, we could pretend that this would all go smoothly and that we would not get caught, and that we would all just go back to the way things were before we went on this mission. I could think I would continue to work at the labs as a very smart unknown woman married to a very good cop. I imagined we would still order pizza every Sunday because, even though our tiny salaries barley covered the rent, we liked to treat ourselves.

But while the pipes expanded and more room was allowed to us, so was more air and our thoughts were grounded, all hopes of normal crushed under the weight of reality.

"Things will never be the same again." My voice was low and I grew flustered at the stupid comment the second it came from my mouth.

"Who said they needed to be the same?" He murmured, running a hand through my hair like he would do when I had a particularly bad dream or an episode brought on by homesickness. He lifted me up a bit and I wrapped my arms around his neck, as if a goodbye but not in words. I looked up and noticed the pop of white in the dark. When I reached my hand up and plucked the list of numbers from their hiding spot hidden behind Ichigo's head, I realized I never would have seen them if not for his lift. My low laugh seemed strange in the tense atmosphere.

I looked at the note then typed in the corespondent numbers before smiling slightly when the flashing red lights beeped green and the airtight seal unlocked, causing a slight hissing noise.

As we threw ourselves over the rim and onto the floor, we landed next to each other. My heart was beating so hard I though it might burst from my chest and I knew it had little to do with the lack of oxygen in the vents. In the brightly lit room, two dozen monitors buzzed and we laced our fingers together. We would finish this mission and then go our separate ways, but for now, we rely on one and another.

Like they say, trust among thieves.

**I was trying to hold back the kissing scene until chapter twenty, but I got antsy. I don't know how to feel about this chapter, really. I do like the ending though, so I'll pat myself on the back for that. Enjoy.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"What are we looking for?" I asked, skimming my fingers over the mass amount of keys. My brain was all but fried, left completely numb by the kiss. An irritated voice floated past the quiet humming of the machines. "Do you hear that?"

"That sounds like... Ten Code?" Ichigo muttered before pressing his ear up to the wall and his face scrunched up in concentration. I followed suit and when the voices became clearer, we realized it was a radio transmitting feed. "Ten Code was a system used by cops a long time ago to communicate on an open circuit without telling the people who might be eavesdropping on their conversation, what their conversation was about."

"Great, so a dead language then." I huffed, pulling myself away from the wall and started fiddling with a dial. When I didn't get an answer, I looked over my shoulder and scrunched my brows. "What are you doing?"

Ichigo raised a hand to shush me. His lips moved in rapid succession, his mutters couldn't be heard over the computers fans, and it almost looked like he was mouthing words.

"Holy shit, can you understand that?" I whispered and then felt bad when I doubted him. He had lived on the streets most of his life since he had been forcibly separated from his family when he was a child. His mother had died not long after that. He never wanted to talk about it, except when he was drunk into oblivion.

"Sweetheart, I was chased by cops of the better part of my life, 'course I know the cops talk." He smirked and I just shook my head at my ill-earned nickname; he knew I hated being called that. "Oh don't scrunch your face like that, it might stick that way."

"Says Mr. Frown." I quip back, flicking a few keys and watching an old and unused monitor blink to life. When I wiped the screen clean, the green backdrop started typing out a mixture of letters and numbers. "I think I got something..."

"It looks like computer codes." He remarked, pulling out the keyboard and using the small arrows to navigate the growing list of digits. My sigh prompted him to growl at me. "It's going to take time; go see about our escape route."

"Fine." I huffed in annoyance and marched over to the thick metal door, only openable from the inside and used by the engineers. The door had three automatic locks and six good old fashioned bolts. I started on the locks first, entering the numbers from the back of the sticky note and watching as the lights flickered green and detached. The bolts took a bit longer considering that I had to hand pick them with a bobby pin and a flattened screwdriver, courtesy of the metalworkers in the Dome.

When the last click came and the lock popped open in my palm, I smiled and tossed it over my shoulder before getting to my feet and shuffling over to Ichigo, a prone shape huddled close to the screen.

"So, what do we have?" I asked, resting an arm on his hunched back and ignoring the tingling feeling circling my body. He seemed to return to the world of the living because suddenly his pupils contracted and his blinked rapidly.

"Instructions about where to find the Security Emergency Button that sets off the alarms." He rubbed his eyes and scrolled a bit more, the only sounds coming from the buzzing radio and the humming machines on every side of us. I pointed over his shoulder.

"You mean like the huge, red, 'Emergency' button by the door?" I asked, my patients worn thin and my irritation starting to bleed through. He just laughed and flipped the computer off before popping the glass lid and slamming the button.

The silent lights on the tops of the room blared to life, releasing an eye splitting ring before starting to turn a startling shade of crimson. It flashed repeatedly and it took us a few seconds to come to our senses and turn around to throw open the door.

When the metal was aside, hulking masses of black, blacker, and blackest greeted us. We both sighed and started forward, racing at a steady jog to avoid hitting the metal railings at turns. No light came from our gear and our headlights flickered on and off a few times, giving us brief but informative looks at the hulking mass of rails, stairs, and platforms that went both up and down.

When we finally reached the exit, a wooden door about the size of a small car, we relished in the artificial sunlight that bathed the empty lot we exited into. Ichigo laughed and fell backwards. He landed on the grass and rubbed his fingers in it.

"I can't remember when grass looked this green." He relished, letting his head drop to the ground and taking in a deep breath before laughing and yanking on my sleeve to do the same. "Come on."

"They artificially grow it and eventually it turns hard and plasticlike. This must be fresh." My fact was taken away by the breeze. I looked up and watched the clouds float lazily across the sky. "Do you miss it?"

"What?" I asked, falling down to my knees and shifting my body so I was laying on my stomach. I curled my back and rested my upper body weight on my elbows so I could run my fingers through the grass like I'd done as a child. He rested his head on the tops of his hands and let his palms rub the ground. I looked over at him and we both blushed.

"I asked if you missed this place. The clean air or the fresh water. The lack of noise and the technology to heal deadly diseases. You have to miss that right?" He asked, but I could hear his underlying question. _Do you blame me for taking you from this almost perfect world?_

"I don't miss the lies we're told, the secrets we have to keep, the family that was always in danger because of my brothers political position. So no, I don't blame you for ruining my life, I have to thank you off the new one I gained." He sputtered but I just smiled and rested my head on the blades of grass and watched the blush stain his tanned cheeks a dark pink.

"That's not what I asked." He said finally.

"No, but that's what you wanted answered." I whispered and we rested quietly in the lot, waiting for the alarm systems to kick in.

"I guess it is."

The lights started wailing unexpectedly and we both jumped to our feet, back to back, in a defensive crouch before we realized it was the alarms. Not long after, the hysteria starts.

From our spot in the lot, we can see the expanse of the Citadel. Families race to their leaders homes to seek instructions. Within minutes screams and cries echoed off the walls. I could see a small child sniffling in the street, his teddy bear clutched tightly in his chubby fingers. My feet kicked off and Ichigo yelled after me. We're suppose to stay hidden until the people had been properly explained to, but all thoughts of the mission and my commands flew out the window.

When I reached the street, I plucked the boy up into my arms and he wiggled and squirmed until finally tiring himself out and going limp in my arms. His wobbling voice called out for mother, over and over. I whispered into his hair that I would find her.

It was less then ten minutes later that the first fire started. Someone, in their hurry to grab their most prized possessions, left a stove on. When it hit the propane in the oven, the house blew.

The child screamed and clutched my chest. I folded his small body into my mine to shield him from the blast but when the impact came, it was lessened by the bulk of Ichigo.

"Stupid girl, always saving everyone but yourself." He chided, straitening up and pushing me away from the torched house. Again, I consoled the boy, telling him my name and how I was here to help them. He just nodded into my neck and clutched at my uniform.

I looked back over my shoulder and saw the fire lick at the sky, its smokey tendrils snaking upward to pool against the ceiling tiles. The puffy white clouds continued their path across the Citadel's roof.

Our running fell into a constant rhythm, for every long stride of Ichigo's, was three of mine. My burden was getting heavy and while his whimpering had shushed to silent pouting, he started slipping out of my grasp.

"Let me take him." Ichigo demanded, grabbing the sleepy child from my arms. When he was moved, he kicked and screamed until Ichigo had pinned the child to his chest and started talking into his ear. Almost instantaneously, the boy stopped squirming and rested in his arms. I noticed the small boy's eyes glance back to the burning house. He shed a few tears when another house caught and went up in a blaze.

When we reached the docks our worst nightmares were alive before us.

At least a hundred families pooled at the dock gates. From the end of the road I could see two fallen men in the police gear, similar to ours. Their chests weren't moving and their masks seemed to be haphazardly ripped from their faces. The ten left had locked the doors and were waving their hands around, trying to get the attention of the leaders, but only getting spit at and called dirty names by the crowd who were hissing like animals.

The civilians rattled the metal chain-link screen. It gave a groan and the masses cheered before chanting to knock it down. They thought our teams were terrorists.

"There is nothing worse than scared humans." Ichigo muttered, his jaw tightening before he placed the child in my arms and raced down the street. The people didn't notice him come up from behind and continued to throw themselves into one and other until blood spattered onto the sidewalk.

In the harsh light of the fire, their dirty faces were covered in soot and grime, caked on by the fights that had surely broken out when the alarms had first gone off. I followed behind Ichigo and watched as he tried to get their attention but their anger was thick, almost tangible, in the air. They needed someone to blame their misfortune on and the man trying to save them, ended up being their targets.

I reached Ichigo and he placed a hand on my shoulder and for the first time, I saw the fear reflected in his eyes. When he looked down at me, his mouth was curved down in helplessness and his brown eyes seemed golden in the fires light. He tried to form words but when he couldn't he just gestured at the people, all once civilized but now nothing more that an uncontrollable riot.

My arms tightened with determination and I dropped the kid onto his own two legs. He wobbled a bit before falling down onto his butt. Instead of crying, he just looked up at me expectantly; like he knew me putting him down was for an important reason.

I clicked my mask from my belt and placed it over my face. The mouthpiece was shaped in the smile of the Cheshire cat, its sharp teeth wickedly pointed. I cranked the volume and took a few deep breaths, calming my frayed nerves before bellowing out.

"LISTEN TO ME!"

My words resonated above the crowds and they all stopped to look. Many hissed and spat at my direction, their filthy faces covered in blood from people whom they scratched or the poor men they had killed, but most went silent, watching my body sway slightly.

"WHAT COULD TURN YOU INTO SUCH SAVAGES?!" My yell was responded by a young man, his shabby baseball cap in tatters and a bundle of hair clenched in his fist.

"Your people are trying to take our homes!" He screamed and yelps of agreement rang out among the crowd. I silenced them with a growl turned dark and violent by the masks voice.

"WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU! YET YOU REFUSE TO HEAR OUR VOICES AND KILL OUR MEN!" This caused uprise in the mass. Many looked to both sides, noticing the suffocating children under the pile of people and the blood of a dead man that somehow ended up covering their bodies.

"How can we trust you?! Your people have locked us inside a burning cage!" A man called, his deep tenor harsh and familiar. I gasped when my brother exited the crowd. My sister was clutched to his side, her face tight and her cheekbones seemed to be protruding from her face. She looked so sick. "We know not who you are or what your intentions might be!" He yelled and my sister coughed. Many in the group agreed, moving forward to flank my brother. As I watched, I realized the reason that so many people followed my brother. His chest puffed and he seemed to stand above them all, like some sort of mighty protector. Like Ichigo.

"How?" I lowered the volume and took a step forward and watched as the whole mass took a collective step back. My sigh was amplified. "Because you always have before."

"What?" He demanded and I watched the crowd starting to get edgy with the approaching wall of fire. I took a few steps forward and the people parted like water. I walked like Moses across the Red Sea, the people's glares following me to the gate. I leaned forward and nodded to the men. They all nodded and fell to the ground, the adrenaline pumping through their veins vanishing and taking their strength with it. My brother had followed me. "Give me a reason to believe you. Just one."

"You know as well as I that this ventilation system is malfunctioning. We were sent to retrieve and escort you all back to a place that had longer than it place does." I answered but was still reluctant to remove my mask and letting my brother see my face.

"How did you know that?" The questioning tone sent the people into an uproar. In the chaos I saw Ichigo trying to find the boy's mother.

"We have watched over the Citadel to insure its protection. It is now deemed unsafe. If you would like to stay with the fifty foot wall of fire, fine by me, less paperwork to fill out, but I plan on saving the semi-smart ones who agree to come with us."

"You could want to kill us!" A girl cried, her once pretty dress was torn in many places and her strawberry blonde hair was crumpled and streaked with dried blood.

"If we wanted to kill you, why would we have set off the alarms. The fire was of your own doing. The family in 223 left their stove on." The crowed yelled and hissed and I watched a man grab Ichigo's neck. "PUT HIM DOWN!"

"If you want to save us, why not show us your face!"

"Enough questions!" I yelled and everyone but my brother settled down. He just blinked slowly and examined me just as I did him. I could tell by the lack of spark in his eyes that he didn't recognize me.

"Forget the reasons. The questions. Why come after us at all?" His philosophical question was causing a wave of fear to waft over the crowd but with the raise of his hand, it diminished within seconds.

"Because I have a cure. Well, a cure in the works. I stole bits and pieces of your work, brilliant by the way, and concocted a nitrogen molecule able to withstand the mutation and actually convert already infected cells. There are other things to consider, the impact it with have on more advanced species but the gist of it is that I need a rocket to blast into the sky to distribute the molecules because they have a half life of a month." I took a deep breath and sighed, sucking in deep breaths to calm my shaking limbs.

"I don't believe you." I could feel the hot tears trailing from my eyes and my emotions, all my homesickness, my longing for my other family, all came rushing to the surface. Even over the masks speakers, I could hear my jerking words and my uneven tone.

"God dammit! You saved me as a child and every day since so for once-" I tore at the latch of my mask and flinched when I caught skin and blood trailed down my neck. "-brother let me save you!"

The whole mass, friends, family, neighbors, business partners, childhood playmates and complete enemies all gasped and looked at my face. I knew what they would see, a tired woman, her cheeks too pale and her eyes too wide and framed by dark bags. I had gained muscle where only soft flesh had been, my arms, once blemish free, now was coated in scars and scratches received from Ichigo's training, the trip here, or mishaps in the lab. My once lovely legs were toned and outfitted in gear. I was no longer Rukia Kuchiki, the child heiress; I was just Rukia, scientist and partner of Ichigo Kurosuki.

My sister fell to her knees and into a sobbing mess. My brothers face was frozen in a state of shock and horror. The people in the mob seemed to feel similarly to my brother but a few seemed to faint. I stepped forward but didn't reach for them, I knew it would be to soon, but they need to hear my words.

"Please! I don't blame you for what happened! I was stupid and made a mistake but now I have to correct it and for that to happen you have to trust me to be right. Just this once!" He seemed reluctant but when my sister heaved a cry and hurled herself at me, I latched onto her greedily and hugged her until we both couldn't breath. Her garbled sobs were comforting and even in the mass of sweating bodies, her perfume smelt like home. As I comforted my crying sister, I watched my brothers face. His eyes glanced to the fire and then at the men grabbing standard masks from seven large bags.

"We will go."

At his command the people formed a line and grabbed a mask before traveling down the long forgotten tunnels of the loading docks, once used to bring in goods from other Citadels. They haven't been used in years.

As each person passed the first checkpoint, receiving a mask, we asked about the sleeping child in Ichigo's arms. He stood across from me holding the boy while I asked if anyone knew his mother or closest relative. After more then an hour, the last few people stood in line waiting for masks. They were all skittish and when I mentioned a child an elderly lady pointed to a woman.

Young, pretty, and slim, she looked out of place in the foreground of a burning city. I plucked the child from Ichigo's arms and curled him into my chest. He was crying in his sleep and the stuffed toy was clutched tightly in his palm. When I reached the woman, her nerve racking sobs were torturous to hear and I noticed she wasn't in line. She was planning on staying behind to be killed in the fire. I hoped this was her child.

"Ma'am." I started but she just huffed and refused to look at me she bent down and I thought she meant to sit but when she straitened, a bottle of liquor was clutched in her hands. I could see the blood that was flowing from a scratch on her chest. "Do you have a son?"

"This caught her attention and she spun around. Her shirt was covered in her own vomit and her brown hair was mangled and missing a patch at the top but the absolute joy that covered her face when she saw the boy in my arms was something only a mother could make.

Her blunt nails carefully picked up the boy and held him to her chest. He woke groggily and instead of squirming like he did to Ichigo and I, he just smiled and curled a hand in his mothers hair.

I motioned with a wave of my hand to the gate where Ichigo raised up two masks with a smile.

"Let's get you two out of here."

The mile hike from the Citadel was grueling and adding four hundred tired, bleeding, bodies was no help. With one man killed at the riot and another dying on a board held by three sympathetic townspeople, only twelve of us experienced were enough to survive in this wild. We swung from the vines, mostly to quiet the fidgety kids, but also to give us a better look at the surrounding areas.

Many small hollows were attracted to the area by the smell of blood but we dispelled them easy enough. When we finally reached camp, the tents couldn't be set up fast enough in the raised platform of ingrown fungi. The raised dais gave us all the advantages if it came to a fight.

That night we mourned the loss of a comrade and sighed for the eventual loss of another. In the light of the fire, no one discussed my speech or its implications. I was grateful.

As I was setting up a tent, I caught my sisters worried gaze. She was sitting at the fire with my brother, a few feet away. Their tent was set up perfectly and their fire burned the brightest of the whole camp. My brother refused to look at me and when he stood to go to sleep, my sister kissed her fingers then raised them, a goodbye we had done since I was a child. Her eyes widened when Ichigo opened the tent flap for me and I knew she would want to know all of the details in the morning, no matter what my brother said.

"You coming to bed?" I looked down and nodded, slipping inside. I curled into a ball facing the wall of the tent and Ichigo pressed his back to mine but cringed and hissed out a sound a pain. I sat up and grabbed my flashlight, grabbing Ichigo's shirt and yanking it up. A horrified gasp was caught in my throat.

His golden skin was pink and puckered, shards of glass sparked under the light and slivers of wood seemed imbedded into his flesh. I grabbed his arm and yanked him outside and onto a log pulled close to the fire.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you got so badly hurt in that blast?!" I demanded, yanking my tweezers out of my toiletries bag and searching for my lotion. My furious tone was dulled to a whisper. "We're partners right?!"

"'Course we are- Ow -but I knew you would- Ow -over react." His words were perforated by his pained exclamations.

"Overreact? Your back looks like you took a meat grinder to it." I hissed pulling out a hunk of wood and covering the area in lotion. When I finished with the glass and wood, I added a bit more lotion then was about to tuck his shirt back in when I noticed his tattoos.

A beautifully detailed cross was placed between his backbones, from it came drops of black, what I assumed to be blood. Above it saw a wreath woven of thorns. At the small of his back was a black sun under a twirling mass of thick black lines, each curve creating a moon. Similar to that on the cross, a band of detailed thorns wrapped around his bicep. At the bace of his neck I saw a flash of a name but he quickly shifted his head and his long hair cover it. I traced the ink of the moon with my fingertips and he let his head fall back.

My courage grew and I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning my head into the dip of his spine. The only sound we could hear was the breathing noises the masks made.

"What do we do now?" He asked, his voice cracking. He placed a callused palm over mine so the only thing dividing our hands was a thin shirt.

"That's the great part," I said. "Now we live."

**For reference, the Dome is where Ichigo was raised and the Citadel is where Rukia grew up. Also, sorry for the mistakes but I'm the only one to check my writing so... Anywho, long chapter, quicker update to make up for the crappy spelling!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

If I thought the mission was dangerous, then I had no idea what was in store for me on the journey back.

My fingers tightened reflexively around my gun every time something so much as shifted in the brush. Ichigo was constantly around me, never talking, just standing as if he could physically block all the hushed insults the people of the Citadel hurled at me when my back was turned.

The men in the other divisions treated me as if I was a hero. They understood I was shunned from the Citadel and forced into a sort of exile. I would find trinkets in front of my tent, a chunk of bread or a pretty stone, something from the men or the children.

Most of my stress was aimed towards the fact that neither my sister nor brother, had spoken to me since the day of the 'Liberation' as the citizens had taken to calling it. My eyes wandered over the faceless crowds and whenever I would spot my siblings dark hair, they would dip into the masses and I would lose them again.

We had been traveling for six days; it had taken our small group a week, but we suspected that with the sheer amount of people we had, it would take a bit longer. We divided into teams and were sent off in different directions to scavenge for food considering we would need to feed four hundred people for half a week extra. We only had a certain amount of the tasteless gruel we were feeding them now.

"What's on your mind?" Ichigo asked, lugging a large boar over his shoulder. I could smell the creature and scrunched my nose up every time the wind shifted in my direction.

"Just thinking about my crummy family relations." I muttered, plucking at the birds swinging from belt. When roasted, they would taste divine.

"Think happy thoughts." He tired but I could see lines forming around his mouth from his constant frowning. He was such a hypocrite.

Our conversation died on our lips as the camp came into view. Fires blazed brightly even though we told them to put them out hours ago. The smoke would attract vultures and wherever those birds circle, other animals think its easy pickings. I raced forward and tossed sand onto the blaze.

The three men sitting around it yelled and pushed at me, but it was to late and the fire died. They huffed and pointed to the small mound of sand with exaggeration. I could smell alcohol on their breath.

With the men's ruckus, many wives peeked out from their tents and their children looked out excitedly. I plucked the liquor from the standing mans hand and the other two placed haphazardly next to the doused embers.

"It is a constant surprise at how much liquor you managed to bring but food is scarce!" I complained as I dumped the bottles into the sand. This seemed to sober them up a bit and they cried out, jumping on me and taking us all to the ground.

Ichigo was there in a second, prying them from my body and giving me a hand up. I coughed a few times and he patted my back while I gripped his hand. The women sighed in defeat and tried to get their kids to lie back down but the all pushed their way to the flaps to watch the drunken fools scramble up and hurl insults.

"You all think you're so superior with your fancy masks and cool toys! Ya'll useless!" He slurred, tilting sideways and patting his ratted vest for something. When he pulled out a knife Ichigo tensed up and grabbed my arm. I shrugged him off. "And I'm not the only one who thinks that! A lot of people do, but they don't have the guts to do what needs to be done!"

"Without us, you would all be dead. You can swing your knife around all you want but that won't fix your problems and that sure as hell won't secure your safety. If we had left you, our home could have been self sustaining for sixty more years, plenty of time for a cure to be made and distributed, but we, the people of the Dome, decided that we wouldn't be human if we left you to die!" I placed my hand over my heart and watched as the rest of the tents rustled and people looked out to listen to my speech.

"I thought you were one of us! You betrayed us! I knew you when you were a child, all sweet and innocent, now look at cha'! Living in the jungle!" He waved the knife again some men stepped out of their tents, startling the man and causing him to wobble.

I took my chance and raced forward, pressing my knee into his groin and when he keeled over, I swung my elbow around and caused him to fall to the ground. I caught the knife before it touched the ground and pressed the cool metal into the fleshy skin of his neck. The citizens all stepped forward to stop me but Ichigo raised a hand and waited, knowing I had something I needed to say.

"I didn't chose to not be one of you. I was forced out of my home! Out into the wild! So if you don't like the fact that I live in the jungle, you shouldn't have pushed me into it in the first place." I stood and tossed the knife into the pile of bottles. "Oh, and thanks to us wild people, you will have meat in your meal tomorrow. You're welcome."

I marched back to Ichigo and grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the camp and up to the natural platform a bit above the rest of the tents. The fire was out and the other tents were dark. A pile of animals were bleeding out over the edge and into a ditch so the smell wouldn't travel. Once Ichigo hung our hunts, we shuffled into our tent and sat back.

"Are you ok?"

"Do I look ok?"

"No."

The conversation cut off with a quiet throat clearing from outside. I sat up and parted the flaps quietly. I gasped when my sister leaned in a bit and smiled.

"Hello, I'm Rukia's sister, and who might you be?" She whispered politely, holding out her hand for Ichigo to shake which he did with a flourish, causing her to laugh quietly and wink at me. "I would like to talk to my sister if that is at all possible."

"Of course." He smiled and for the first time in a while, his eyes lightened and a small grin caused the wrinkles around his eyes to smooth out and he was the twenty-four year old I had adventured with and not the forty year old man I had seen the last few weeks.

When we sat down on the logs around the dully glowing embers, I noticed the pure white nightgown she wore. I wanted to laugh because it was so her to look perfect during an apocalypse.

"What happened to you?"

Her question almost went unheard. Her voice was quiet and timid but an undertone was fierce and hard and I knew I would have to answer her.

"I guess I should start from the beginning." I folded my hands in my lap and glanced behind me. I spotted Ichigo's mop of orange hair behind the green tent flaps, listening to my retelling. "The day, or rather night, I found a monster in the basement."

"The boy in the tent?" She guessed, and I nodded, leaving out the part about the test and him almost killing me. Over my masks heavy breathing, I could hear Ichigo's almost silent laugh. "What next?"

"I tried to help him. He explained that the ventilation systems had been compromised and all of brothers attempts to get the other Leaders to consider looking at other alternatives failed. I thought maybe I could help." I shook my head and watched my sister rub her eyes. "But we were caught and they had guns and-"

"You fell."

"Yes," I said. "In a way, I guess I did. I fell. I almost died." When I laughed my sister glared and I continued, ignoring Ichigo's laughter as well. "We traveled to Ichigo's home, the place we're going now, and we built a new life."

Her mouth was a bit slack but her eyes showed her intelligence and that she comprehended just what that meant. I licked my chapped lips and ran a hand through my hair. I knew she could call my bluff but if I told her about them containing people infected, she would never come.

"I'm a scientist! I have a whole lab and people under me! Ichigo is a police officer. The other men are police officers too." I tried to sound upbeat but I saw the spark of sympathy in her tone when she told me that was great even though she knew I hated nothing more than sympathy. "Ichigo and I are married."

She threw her head back and laughed before quickly covering her snicker with her hand. Her joy at my tale raised my spirits and I could feel a gentle smile pull at my lips. She asked questions, smart, intelligent questions only she would think to ask, and I responded in kind. Her perfectly placed hair was coming undone from the wind and I could see her yawn behind the white film of the mask she wore. Ichigo showed his true colors by shimmying out of the tent and offering my sister his arm.

"It would be my honor to escort you back to your tent." He bent his elbow and my sister nodded and stood daintily before placing her hand around his bicep and trailing beside him while he walked he back to her tent.

From my place by the fire, I could feel my brothers eyes on the back of my neck, a skill I had picked up at a young age. My fingers were numb and the joy I felt when talking to my sister was settling down as I came into contact with my cold elder brother.

"You could have returned to us. You picked your own path." He defended, his words leaving little room for discussion and no room for error. His tone, superior and cruel, was grating on my nerves and I could feel the pain and longing that had been festering since I was pulled out of that lake start to bubble.

"Don't you dare think I chose this for myself. Would I change it? No, I am smarter and more self realized than I could have ever been in the Citadel but do not mistake my wisdom as forgiveness." My words bit into his cool shell. The tightening of his lips the only indicator he felt anything from my comment. I wanted to spew more cruel words at him, watch as I destroyed that stupid facade he wrapped himself up in, but I held back.

"I thought you had died." My heart skipped a beat at the despair lacing his tone but when I looked up, only a thin sheen in his eyes revealed the deep emotion he was feeling. My anger dissipated and I patted the log next to me. He sat down silently. "I see the way you look at that boy."

"He is the only friend I have. We have been through a lot together." I tired to explain but it was crushed when blood pooled in my cheeks and my lips started to tingle, remembering our kiss.

"You are married." His statement was more a question and I just laughed and shook my head, explaining our need for a new identity, and what a better then newlyweds. He listened to my reasoning but his eyes narrowed into a disbelieving stare. I huffed and gave up, choosing instead to just sit in comfortable silence.

When I spotted Ichigo trekking back, I was preparing to shake hands when he roughly grabbed my coat and tugged me into his chest. The hug was awkward but much needed and was over within seconds.

My brother kissed my forehead then walked down passed Ichigo who watched him pass with owlish eyes. He pointed to the fading outline as the darkness swallowed my brother's figure. I just smirked a bit and he tossed an arm over my shoulder.

"Good to have you back Short Stack." He muttered before strutting back into our tent with my nagging following him.

"What the hell did you just call me?"

**I thought I updated this, sorry. Duel chapters as penance.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

**Warning: Writer got carried away and bumped up the rating. Read at your own risk.**

Time heals all wounds. At least that's what all those philosophical assholes say when giving advice on not to feel crummy, but unfortunately for me, two weeks just wasn't enough time for my brother and sister to settle into their new homes and for me to stop being angry at the rest of the citizens who complained every day.

Ichigo and his police buddies were in charge of guarding the people of the Citadel from the protesters in favor of leaving them to rot but now it seemed as if they were needed more to pry the citizens off each other and the unfortunate souls who tried to help.

Everyone was angry at something, wether it be another human, god, or the universe, the whole block set out for them was always full with dissatisfied people demanding something else.

"Is something on your mind?" The lab assisted stuttered out, his eye having a ring around it from long hours at the microscope. My sigh said it all and I just nodded before deciding I was going to check out early. It wasn't like my lab was developing anymore.

My development of the resistant nitrogen was a breakthrough and once I told the government what I needed, they immediately started up NLP, Nitrogen Launch Program. A little tacky if you ask me.

My purse was weighed down with the box lunches I had made this morning for Ichigo and his friends. Their dinner break was less then fifteen minutes but this way, they can eat and still be on the job.

I could tell when I entered the Citadel District. The streets were mostly unlit and the roads were filled with people grunting and reading the public paper on old buckets and stools. A few glared at me as I passed but a child playing with a broken toy airplane smiled and waved before her mother shushed her.

"Ah, the lovely Mrs. Nakano." One man called before waving me over to the makeshift post. An old toll booth had been gutted and placed snuggly next to the hastily held up fence. I pulled the wrapped boxes from my bag and the men cheered. "You're a godsend."

"I know, I know. Do any of you know where my husband is?" The guys were consumed by the food and only nodded into the Citadel District. I sighed and hit the button to open the gates.

The iron gate clanked open and all eyes turned of me. The crudely constructed buildings seemed to lean on one another, making the whole block appear to be cringing away from me. My heels made loud scuffs on the stone road and I could see three shadows detach themselves from an alleyway wall.

"If you plan on mugging me, I suggest against it considering it will just get you a huge beating from my brother and boyfriend not to mention that any money you take will be useless. You really should think over your plan of attack." I stated without turning around and listened as they slunk back into the inky blackness of the backs of the buildings. A young woman scoffed as she shuffled past.

"Who died and made you queen?" She hissed, her tone venomous and cruel. I just cocked my head and shot her look telling her to continue if she dared. She raised her chin and spat out an insult. "It may be hard for you to understand seeing as you live in this wonderful sprawling city, but our lives are a living hell!"

A few others joined her plight and gathered behind her. I knew I had to defuse this situation before things grew to extreme but I wanted her to release her pent up frustration on something not illegal or harmful. My eyes caught a few windows being cracked at families looked out to see what the commotion was all about. This was the fire man all over again.

"No idea?" I scoffed and turned on my heels to leave when the woman spit at my feet. A few people cheered and others gasped with outrage. This was going to far, and she seemed to understand that when I glanced over my shoulder and threw my arm around to grab her collar.

"I have no idea? I lived in the Citadel! It was easy and simple and all you had to do was pretend to be perfect! This is hell? No, this is you being lucky! Hell would be if we left you in that dying Dome of yours!" I pushed her back and she seemed to deflate under my anger. "We are feeding you, clothing you, and you're not even working enough to pay for it! Our life expectancy is cut in half because we, the people of this Dome, couldn't let you die!

"Our generators are running double time and our engineers are short staffed! Our farmers crops are failing because most of the irrigation pipes now are rerouted to your apartments. We are doing everything we can to appease you and you just want more! How many times do I have to say it?!"

The men and woman dispersed and I marched down the block and to the high rise apartments at the end of the block. The elevators used up to much energy so I had to climb the stairs to the topmost floor and the last door. My knock was small and I wondered if I needed to knock again.

Ichigo opened the door and grinned at me, sliding to the side to grant me entrance. I smirked and rolled my eyes but didn't miss the chance to smack his arm.

"So this is what you were up to." I huffed and shoved the lunch into his hands. He looked down at me and smiled again. My brows furrowed and I crossed my arms, he was never this happy. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing." He cleared his throat and folded his face back into its constant frown. I nodded slowly and slid my coat off before coming into the crowded living room. My sister sat on the couch, her knitting in her lap while my brother was signing papers and sipping at a cup of tea. I looked behind me and noticed the smirk threatening to breakout across Ichigo's face.

"Hello." I started and sat down across from my sister who sat her unmade scarf to the side and focused her attentions solely on me. I was offered a cup of tea from my brother and took it gladly before taking a sip and gagging at the sour taste. I handed it to Ichigo and he drank it down. When I caught my families stares I quickly tried to explain. "He drinks strong liquors with his friends because most of the distilleries don't add much water."

"I see." My brother muttered, returning to his papers. I shot a glare at Ichigo when he made a rude face in my brothers direction which he responded to with little hand gestures. "I am not blind."

"'Course you're not. You're too perfect for that." He scoffed and I gasped before smacking his arm. He rubbed at it angrily even though I knew I hadn't hurt him. Maybe it was a metaphoric pain, like he was jealous that I has sided with my brother. To ease his faux pain, I sighed and pursed my lips, a clear sign that I was sorry.

"Did you see that dear?" My sister laughed and glanced over at her husband who remained passively writing at his desk and spared her a single look to indicate he had heard her. "They have their own little language."

I could feel the blush heating my cheeks and quickly caught my brothers eye who had stopped penning his name to lock eyes. He seemed to be examining me, looking for something. My whole body stilled under his scrupulous gaze and when he finally went back to work, I could feel my held breath come out in a whoosh.

"Let's blow this Popsicle Stand." Ichigo instigated before standing and opening the door. He let it swing open for me to exit first. The small smile that found its way onto my lips I tried to hide but it was times like this when I remembered Ichigo had a courteous side he rarely showed.

"It seems it's time to go." I politely leaned down to hug my sister before bowing to my brother, who dipped his head as I left. Ichigo placed his hand on the small of my back to guide me through the cramped entrance way and down the stairs.

We waved at the guards who could only mumble with their mouth full of food. The sunlight filtering through the Dome was deluded but I could see the outline of the swirling mix of constantly exploding chemicals through the thick glass. The real sun blocked by the fake.

By the time we reached our street, the sun had set and the generators were slowing to a grind, preparing for heating the quickly chilling atmosphere. We glanced at each other and realized if the generators shut down early, our door would be locked until morning. My heels clomped noisily on the sidewalk as we raced down the asphalt. I slowed down to slip my shoes off but Ichigo thought I was tiring and grabbed my arms to lift me onto his chest. I screamed but clutched at his shirt as he sprinted down the road.

My legs grabbed at his slim waist and I could feel my pencil skirt hiking up my thighs with each long stride he took. A mortified blush spread across my face and when he finally threw the door open, the lights flickered then turned off, the door with it.

We both let out a breath of relief before noticing our compromising position. My arm was clutching at his shoulder while the other was gripping around his neck to hold myself up. My legs had wrapped themselves around his hips and my skirt had shimmied up to the tops of my thighs. His face turned red as a cherry.

"You ok?" I whispered, my humiliation making my muscles lock into place. Ichigo seemed to be the same because his hands never moved from their place at the small of my back and my bottom. I slid off and suddenly everything became that much more mortifying.

"I'm gunna... Go do that... Thing I was going to do." I lied and moved backwards while throwing my thumb over my shoulder like I had somewhere to be. I spun on my heels and raced into the bedroom.

I threw my shoes into the corner and landed face first onto Ichigo's side of the bed. It smelled like his aftershave and toothpaste. That wasn't helping the warm feeling bubbling in my stomach or the tingling that was spreading throughout my fingers down to my toes.

I unzipped my skirt and tossed my blouse into the wash basket before standing before my wardrobe in just my undergarments. I shook my whole body but that only caused goosebumps to breakout across my skin. I shimmied my hands a bit before leaning my ear up to the door.

I could hear the scratching of Ichigo's shoes on the carpet and I knew the sound from the nights the police sent out patrols. He was pacing. This only caused more confusion to run throughout my body.

My fingers flexed over the knob and before my racing mind could decide anything, the door flew open and a shell shocked Ichigo towered over me. He had lost his jacket and the first few buttons on his shirt had been undone to reveal a strip of skin. My breath caught in my throat and with the door sudden motion, I realized I was still in my bra and underwear.

I could feel my resolve harden first because when I pulled the loose shirt collars down to my hight, Ichigo's eyes widened right before our lips connected. It took a few seconds for him to recognize that I was indeed kissing him but after the realization, his hands grabbed my hips and lifted me up before tossing me onto the bed.

I bounced and squealed a bit before Ichigo was in front of me, his lips trailing hot kisses from my chin down to my neck. Our deep panting was becoming louder than the generators and I worried about the noise before Ichigo's hand reached my stomach.

I let out a moan and I could feel Ichigo's lips flex as he smiled against my throat. I scoffed threw my arm over his back to keep him in place. At my actions he just laughed and the throaty chuckle made the heat building in my stomach coil and squirm.

"This is highly inappropriate." I tried, but my words went unheard as Ichigo expertly unclasped my bra and tossed into into the darkness of the bedroom. I knew I would have to hunt for it in the morning, but at the moment, the lost garment was the last thing on my mind.

"I thought you liked to experiment?" He asked, obeying my tugs at his shirt until I undid the buttons and tugged it up over his head. I traced the tattoos curling around his abdomen. When I got too low, he growled and I was pressed into the bed with his lips pressing onto my own.

Now it was my time to laugh and when I opened my mouth, he took the chance to deeper the kiss. I let a roaming hand tangle into his hair and the other scratched at his back as we both seemed to realize this little trysts would be leaving bruises.

I arched my back off the comforter and used the momentum to flip Ichigo onto his back. My legs were spread over his thighs and I hummed contently when his fingers skimmed over the exposed skin of my hips.

"What would your brother say if he saw you like this?" He joked, using my bliss to gain the upper hand and rolling me onto my back. I sighed and brought my mouth up to his ear to whisper.

"Don't mention my brother at a time like this." I hissed and raked my teeth over his ear lobe. He just chuckled and his whole body quivered above me. I rubbed my thighs together to realize some pressure but it only seemed to multiply.

"Whatever you say Short Stack." His tone had dropped even lower as he spread his hand over my ribs.

"Just take your pants off, smartass."

**I have no idea what happened. Sorry.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

The early morning sun blared down on my face and I blinked groggily. When I went to stretch my arms, I found only one free, the other was under Ichigo's neck. I reached up and my toes curled into the warm sheets. The warmth at my side was almost uncomfortably hot, and when I blinked into the morning light, I raised an eyebrow at the large man curled into my side. His steady breathing blew across my neck and a shiver raced down my spine.

I could hear the alarm clock but couldn't reach it from my place pinned to the bed under Ichigo. My fingers reached out and while I could turn down the volume, I couldn't hit the large snooze button. I was about three seconds away from flipping Ichigo onto the floor when he reached out and smacked the clock off the nightstand.

"What time is it?" He asked, his head buried into my neck. His words were garbled and I had to strain to hear him.

"I don't know, someone's got me pinned to our bed." I chided, running a hand through my hair and unwinding my other from his. He groaned and flipped over onto his back before hissing. My whole body felt cold without his warmth and with that thought, my whole face turned crimson.

"Shit!" He yelled, standing up and walking over to dresser. He turned around and laughed at the mirror. "What am I suppose to tell my coworkers when they ask how I got these three foot long gashes on my back."

"Our cover story is that were married. I don't think they will find it odd. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, tell them its gang related; you never know, they might think you're a badass."

"Are you laughing at me?" He asked, straitening up and grabbing a clean pair of underwear from the wardrobe. I rolled over and tucked the warm covers closer to my body. From my spot I could see the flashing numbers of the alarm clock telling me it was way to early to get up.

We bantered a while more and he left, the door shutting quietly. My resolve hardened and I decided I was not going into work today. Rebellion is perfectly healthy. My feet chilled on the cool floor and I yanked a shirt hanging from one of the open drawers before throwing it over my head and stalking to the kitchen.

The feeling of needing to talk to someone washed over me and I remembered my friends from from the Citadel. My fingers were clumsy as I popped a bagel into the toaster while simultaneously digging around in my purse for my phone. Ichigo had lent our landline to my brother to keep us in touch and it rang three times before the chipper voice of my sister picked up.

"Hello?" Even in the early hours of the morning, my sister never failed to wake up at the crack of dawn and watch the sunrise. "So who might this be?"

"Who is the only one with this number?" I questioned, cradling the phone in my palm and grabbing the steaming bagel before tossing it on the waiting plate. My fingers scrambled through all the leftovers for the almost expired cream cheese.

"And what might you need this early?" She asked and I yanked a knife out of the drawer. "For that matter, just what are you doing?"

"Making a bagel." I explained before getting right to the point which I had to repeat because my mouth was full of bagel. "I need to know where Momo is living."

BTS

The door was opened and the old hallway was filled with squeals. Momo threw herself out the door and wrapped her small arms around my shoulders. Questions flowed from her mouth and I couldn't keep up with them, so I waited for her to run out of breath.

"Tell me everything!" She demanded, pulling me into her apartment and planting my bum on her ratty couch. I did my best.

I explained to her how I found the lab and rescued Ichigo. I went into great detail about our escape and our deep forest escapades. How we got captured and escaped and the importance of the crummy car in my driveway. A well described speech on my climb up the career ladder and my fake identity. She stood to make tea before I explained how I made friends and adapted to the life. How I had slept with my fake husband.

"Oh. My. God." She hissed, leaning in before sighing and leaning back, her pretty pink mug splashing and sending a few scorching drops landing in her lap. She either ignored it or was too absorbed to feel it. "I get you wanting to talk about it, but why me?"

At my shocked expression she raised a hand in protest.

"Not that I don't think I'm good at the whole counseling thing, but you kinda pulled away from me, us, just before you left." She explained, tugging a coster from the side table and planting her mug on it.

"My sister had been getting worse, I guess I just got sidetracked." I sipped quietly and waited for Momo to say something else. When she didn't, I broke the ice. "I hoped we could still talk normally. You were my closest friend."

"Oh stop buttering me up." She accused and I smirked into the rim of my cup. "All I can say is if he can put up with mopey Rukia for that long, he's a keeper."

"Good advice backed by hard fact." I replied sarcastically and a blush stained my cheeks. Momo gawked.

"Wait a minute. You really like him!" She seemed almost appalled before her lips broke out into a large smile and she laughed. A few people pounded on the wall and a baby started crying down the hall. "I thought it was just a little crush, but oh my goodness, you really like like him."

"I don't see the need for adding two likes in the same sentence." I accused and turned my head to the side and hoped the lighting was bad enough to hide the pink color staining my cheeks. No such luck.

"Well I do!" She laughed again and got more tea. I held up my cup and she pulled a bottle of whiskey from her slightly humming fridge. I snorted and asked her how she managed to sneak that into the complex considering all baggage was checked and double checked. Her mouth tugged up into a sly smile and she winked, a very un-Momo thing to do. "I have my secrets, you have yours."

**Late. Sorry.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"It came!" An intern raced in and smacked the rocket sequence codes onto the table. I spun around in my chair and grabbed for the file. The paper made little noise as I scanned the documents and reached the last page that asked for my signature. I let out a cry of joy and thrust a hand up before stomped my feet a few times. The intern seemed a bit concerned considering how cold and grumpy I had been the last few days, but joined in when she was sure I wasn't going to bite her head off. "This is good news right? The rocket is in its last stages of completion, right?"

"Yes!" My fingers were as white as the paper and I stood up and mapped out the walk to Ichigo's post but stopped when I thought back to the pass few days and the awkward conversations and silent bedroom at night since Ichigo had taken to sleeping at the station or on the couch. The intern smiled and looked at my face.

"Your husband?" I glanced, startled at the slightly elder woman's face. She was new, sent over from a different division until my normal intern was feeling better. Her long strawberry blonde hair fell over her should when she leaned over the table to talk to me. "I don't do the whole commitment thing, but I think the principle of the thing is sweet. I mean, don't get me wrong, boys are great, but there are bound to be some problems."

"What?" I injected and she seemed to understand my confusion because her head tilted to the side in a mock gesture to show her comprehending.

"What I'm trying to say, is just because you love someone, doesn't mean you have to love them all the time." She summed up then focused on picking at her nails. I smirked and expressed my gratitude with a head dip. She just smiled and went back to fiddling with the microscope and I went to my station to grab my purse and the lunches I had promised the men at Ichigo's post.

"Thank you." I said quietly as I passed her and she just waved me out. The file was clutched tightly in my hands and I found my pace speeding up at the thought of our normal banter and not the common curtsies we exchanged now.

I only slowed when I passed the park, one of the few places with tall, natural trees. Children played in the grass and would race back to their mothers with blades before throwing them in their lap, like a present. I laughed and continued.

Yesterday the citizens were allowed out to look for potential jobs until the government's plan works. A few I could see trying to sell wares on street corners and a few I spotted flipping bread in the bakery. I could tell from the awkward movements they made and the uncomfortable set of their shoulders, like they where unsure in their own skin.

When the gate came into view, I raised my lunchboxs and the men cheered. I laughed again and the stock of orange hair came into focus. He had been leaning into the fence and when I reached the corner, the girl with died violet hair smirked at me and sauntered off, the swing of her hips looking almost inhuman.

"Be careful she doesn't brake something." I whispered and he snorted before covering it up with a cough. As I walked past, I could feel his eye follow my moves, a gesture I could tell the girl with the violet hair hiding behind the building most certainly didn't like.

"You just about blew our meeting with our informant. She only likes Ichigo." One guard muttered before reaching for my bag. I plopped the plastic onto the wooden platform and the three men grinned before popping the lids and digging in. In the chaos, I grabbed one and held it out to Ichigo.

Our eyes met and he seemed to get it. It wasn't lunch, it was a peace offering. He took it carefully, opening it and sending a smirk my way. The men behind me started stuttering things out through their mouthfuls of food.

"We 'ought you to 'ought or 'omething." He swallowed and finished. I nodded and then tilted my head away from the station. Ichigo nodded and told the men he was going on brake.

"What?" He asked, his tone tight but the hard edge to his eyes was gone. I held out the file and watched as he pulled the papers out before tucking the envelope and his lunch under his arm. He glanced up and me before scanning the words on the page. His brows knit together and his permanent frown deepened. I licked my lips in anticipation until I couldn't hold it in any longer.

"I got my rocket!" I cheered, throwing my hands up a bit before tucking them into my coat. His eyes glanced up to meet mine and he flashed me a grin before he focused back onto the file. When he finished, he nodded his head and slid them back into the manila envelope.

"I'm happy for you." He stated and I scrunched my face up in confusion before rubbing the pounding migraine I could feel growing behind my skull. With every word he spoke, the pain intensified.

"I thought we were over all is." I cried, throwing my hand out in a rather dramatic fashion and Ichigo took a step back. "Oh don't look at me with those brown puppy dog eyes! You have been avoiding me like the bubonic plague and don't you even try to deny it!"

"I thought you wanted your room!" He yelled, smacking away my finger that was jabbing him in the stomach. "I thought you regretted that night so I was just doing what you wanted!"

"What I wanted?! That's funny, I can't remember when I told you what I wanted..." I mock thought about it before throwing my hands out again and catching the attention of passerbyers. "Oh, that's right, I never did!"

"This is rich, coming from you." He muttered, running a hand over the scruff accumulating on his chin. I openly gasped at his comment.

"And just what is that suppose to mean?!" I said before letting my rage fill me and let the words pounding painfully in my chest out. "You don't even like me!"

"I love you, dammit!" He yelled and we both seemed to freeze. The chilled air seemed to stop and even in the darkened streets I could see the chalky parlor of his skin and how wide his eyes had gotten. I wanted to run, to hide, something to stop the blush from spreading over my cheeks. I walked forward and smacked him. "What the hell was that for?!"

"I love you to, you giant asshole!" My yell reverberated off the close buildings before I turned on my heels and marched down the street. My heels made loud clicking noises and even over the ever steady thrumming of the generators, I could tell he wasn't following me.

The house was cold and alone when I returned. The mail had been shoved through the slot and I looked longingly at the conjoined names we had taken. My heels were the first to go. Then the rest of my clothes until I turned on the shower and got in. The cold water pounded relentlessly on my skin until it was bright pink. I padded in front of the mirror and looked at myself.

Large eyes and a slim face. My lips were to thin and my lashes made my pupils to big. My skin was to white and my stature, to small. I rubbed at my neck and admired its length but not the speckles of freckles from my time outside. My hands had once been beautiful, perfect and pretty, but now they were the hands of a scientist, callused and scared. My legs had multiple cuts and gashes that had been opened and closed a few times and had healed unnaturally. I had once been pretty, but I guess that doesn't really matter when you don't have anyone to admire you.

I didn't have the energy to pull on anything other than my undergarments and pull myself into bed. The sheets were freshly washed and didn't smell like they normally would, like Ichigo and I.

It was around midnight when the door opened quietly and Ichigo crept in. I held completely still while he tugged off his uniform and pulled on his favorite pair of sweatpants I had given him. The covers were delicately pushed aside and he slid into bed, his back pressed snuggly against my own. A small smile crept onto my lips when his fingers trailed under the covers before grabbing and linking our hands.

When I woke the next morning, we had both flipped over and were facing each other.

**The climax is coming soon, I want this to be something semi-realistic, and unlike tv shows, things take time.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"These are the plans." The assistant handed me the blue prints and shuffled back behind his boss. The man was kind looking, with warm brown eyes and glasses, but no matter how many glowing reviews I got from a variety of people, the sliver of distrust remained tightly imbedded.

"I can explain them to you, if you wish." He held out a hand and I simply shook my head and spread the paper out, using rocks to catch the corners from curling.

"I can assure you Mr. Aizen, I'm well versed in many things. Aerospace engineering is one of them." My snark caused his always present smile to twitch. I had lent him a few of my interns for use and he had taken a liking to Gin, the slightly creepy lab assistant with a quick mind and nimble fingers. I hadn't particularly liked him either.

"Whatever you say. I would also like to talk to you about the award ceremony. You are to get some sort of nomination, correct Miss. Nakano?" He hissed and I could feel my teeth bite down on my tongue to stop the spew of curse words.

"Yes. I would ask if you would be in attendance but I figured it was just people of stature." I folded the blueprints and handed them to Momo, who I had hired as my temporary assistant. She snickered and tried to cover it with a cough. "Also, for the record, its Mrs. Nakano. I'm married."

I glanced over my shoulder to catch his lips tighten over his teeth in a pathetic attempted smile. Momo bowed politely before hustling after me. Before entering the containment area, I stopped and looked back at the thick bars of metal and pipes that under the order of the government, would be constructed to save the lives of everyone. Men and woman clad in thick overalls and masks, hammered and heated the material and I watched the dark smoke twist and curl before vanishing when it reached above the trees.

"So what now?" Momo asked, shifting the bag on her back so it sat more comfortably between her shoulder blades. She smiled when she caught my eye and it made the mask flex on her cheeks. "I don't know about you, but I want to get back inside where there is less chance of getting turn into an animal."

"I'll be right back, there is someone I need to see." She just shrugged her shoulders before pressed the button and entering the dome. I could hear her giggle when one man patted her down and accidentally tickled her underarms.

The lightly worn path around the side of the dome and into the forest took less then ten minutes to walk and by the time I reached the clearing, the small children swarmed me. Their grimy faces broke into smiles and their giggles echoed in the towering trees. I pulled the wrapped lunch from my pouch and handed out scraps to each. It had been hard enough smuggling it out, but it was worth it to see them laugh as they ate and licked the crumbs off their faces.

A small girl pushed her way to the front and held out a hand for the remaining slice of bread. I placed it in her palm and she munched on it happily. I recognized her instantly as the child who had followed Ichigo and I. I patted her head and nodded over to the river a few feet away.

Without true adults, the children had little discipline or rules. When I had first stumbled across the gang, they hissed and spit at me and they only way I had gotten though to them was food and guidance.

They washed and splashed each other and I watched them play, imagining a time when the children in the dome would be able to do the same, play and bathe without the threat of death looming over their heads.

BTS

Ichigo was pulling a double shift at the department that night so when I shuffled into the dark apartment, I was surprised to see my sister sitting on the couch reading by candlelight. She glanced up when I entered and sat the magazine down.

"I was told to come keep you company while my husband works out a situation beneficial to both sides." Her hands were placed lightly in her lap and I noticed the lines around her mouth when she frowned and the bags under her bloodshot eyes.

"Is everything ok?" My voice was shaky and uneven as I dropped my bag on the ground and shuffled forward. Something seemed wrong somehow. "Have you been crying?"

"Oh, have I?" She gasped and rubbed at her inflamed face. I raced forward and grabbed her hands to stop from making the rash worse. I had never once seen my sister cry. Her tears made my heart lurch and I couldn't help but weap openly with her.

"What wrong? What happened?" I caught her arms and shook her a bit, she straitened her back and swallowed thickly. Her tears stopped falling and it was like it had never happened, like my beloved sister hadn't just broken before my eyes. "Tell me!"

She seemed shocked by my angry tone and forceful words. She smiled ruefully and took my hands in hers. She couldn't meet my eye and instead rubbed my palms quietly.

"I should have listened to the doctors, they do know best." She muttered and I watched as she started silently crying again. "But I had to try. It was a boy this time, they said, a little boy."

"Oh no." Reality came crashing down around me as I realized what could have done this to my strong and diligent sister. I thought back to the month before leaving the Citadel where my sister had lost all will to move on with her life. "You had another miscarriage."

She sobbed loudly and I held her as her tears soaked my blouse. Her fingers tightened almost painfully around my waist and I just comforted her while she convulsively gasped before crying more. The candle eventually died out and in the darkness I asked the question I knew I had to answer.

"Does Byakuya know?" She sobbed again and buried herself farther into my clothes. I pushed gently at her shoulders to get her face to mine. "Hisana, answer me!"

"How could I tell him?" Her whole body seemed to deflate, her body crumbled and I had to help her walk to the bedroom. Her body was heavy but she offered little resistance when I pushed her onto the comforter and under the covers. I pulled a chair into the room and sat next to her until her eyes fluttered close, her breathing evened out and her sobbed ebbed. My fingers had gone numb in her grip and I lightly uncurled them from her hand.

I made up a small bed on the couch and the twisting knot in my gut refused to quit. I knew I hadn't eaten in quite awhile but the thought of food make my stomach clench. My finger fumbled in the dark cabinets until I found the matches and relit the candle which had flickered out. The light was casting long shadows over the furniture and made everything appear sinister and malicious.

My fingers were still like rubber when I tugged my phone from my pocket and hit the first on my speed dial. The ringtone was short and Ichigo answered after the third ring. He sounded slightly tired but his words were clipped short and said in a business tone.

"Yes?" He waited for answer and I was half tempted to stay quiet and just listen to him breathe, but I knew he would just get angry.

"It's me." I knew he could tell something was wrong when the sound of him shooting up out of his desk crackled through the phones speakers. "Everything's fine. I just needed a favor."

"What?" I could hear the alarm still evident in his voice but I could also hear him bending down to pick up the papers he must have dropped onto the floor.

"Just let me listen to you work." My words broke at the end and I cursed myself.

"What is this about?" He asked and his question was cut off when he moved his phone to his other ear.

"Please." I begged and hoped he would just this once let it side and not push the matter like he had a tendency of doing. "For once, please. I explain later."

The line went silent for a few seconds and I had almost thought though he hung up until he sighed and placed the phone on desk next to him. The scribbling of his pencil was lulling me to sleep but every time I closed my eyes, my sobbing and broken sister appeared. I was about to give up on sleep when Ichigo started humming.

It was subtle and almost unheard but I knew it was for me. My fingers tightened around the plastic and I closed my eyes, as if that would help me better hear the melody. As he reached the hymn's climax, an idea flashed in my mind and I promised my brain I would look into it tomorrow when I wasn't so tired.

When I woke in the morning, I called Byakuya to explain that my sister had fallen asleep and that she was resting. I could tell from the worry in his voice that he sensed something was wrong with Hisana too. When I explained my my idea, he readily agreed and I went to wake my sister.

BTS

"Of all days to talk a walk, you chose today?" My sister was melancholy. The clothes she had borrowed made her look washed out and pasty and her black hair was disheveled and knotted. Her hands were white where she knitted them together and I noticed that her cheeks looked hollow and her eyes had lost their luster.

"I want you to meet someone." I pulled the leaf covered branch out of her way and her brows knit together in confusion, pulling at the corners of her mask.

"All the way out here?" She was suspicious but also intrigued and when I finally reached the clearing with my sack of foods, my sister exhaled and looked around. "I don't see anyone."

All at once, the children raced from the bushes and surrounded my feet, tugging at the bag and pointing to my shocked sister. I kneeled and leaned down to whisper in a small boy's ear. He raced forward and grabbed at her legs in a mock attempt of a hug.

"What did you tell him?" She asked, in awe of the kids slowly separating from the group to join the boy at her feet.

"The truth. I talked to the District Director and he approved my plan. I did extensive research into child brain development and there is a strong chance that they could regain their memories and minds after the rocket distributes my nitrogen. He agreed that until then, they should have a mentor and teacher to come out once a day to give food and to teach them. I recommended you for the job."

She tilted her head to the side and I could see the happiness shining in her eyes. She looked down and placed a genteel hand on the boy's shoulder as to not startle him, before shaking her head.

"I'm not experienced enough, I wouldn't know what I was doing." Her face was crestfallen but brightened slightly when the boy smiled up at her.

"They need a mother, Hisana. They need a you." She looked up as me and a refined smile crept across her face and she started her first day at work.

**I'm oddly in love with this chapter while also simultaneously hating myself for it. As always, ask any questions you have and please tell me any spelling or grammar mistakes I might have made.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"Explain again." Momo mumbled, lifting the bottle to her lips and draining the rest of the liquor. She shook her head and smiled.

"One more time, then I'm leaving and taking the alcohol with me. How many have you had?" I laughed, counting the lids scattered across the wool carpet and table. "So I have the cure, right, and I need to get it up into the atmosphere for it to have maximum effect. You following me?"

"Yup." She replied, stacking the pennies from her job as a secretary. Her pile got to the size of her beer bottle before spilling over and causing her to sigh wearily. She waved me on before attempting again.

"After the rocket is able, I can remotely detonate it in the atmosphere and distribute the nitrogen throughout. Still there?" I asked and when she nodded, I continued. "So all I need to do is scan over the plans every few days."

"Which is why you're out drinking with me, right?" Momo inquired, her beer muddled mind causing her to loose interest in her coin stacking and grow interested with the ring on my finger. "Are you two going to tie the knot?"

"Legally, we already have." I said quietly and was startled by Momo's gasp. She shot up from her place on the floor and all signs of drunkenness were gone and replaced by a keen look in her eye.

"You mean for cover you really married each other?!" Her butt smacked down onto the couch with me and she crossed her legs before leaning in close to hear my answer.

"Yes?" The statement came out like a question and I spend the next half hour recounting in great detail the small ceremony that was more rushed then anything.

BTS

I held the clippers up a bit more and he shook his head viciously, causing his long hair to bat the sides of his face. I moved the sheers lower and he chewed his lip with concentration, as if trying to see what the outcome would look like.

"Do I really have to cut it?" He asked, twirling a tip between his fingers. I just crossed my arms and smacked the small ponytail he had taken to wearing to keep the long locks out of his eyes.

"This and that beard of yours. No matter what your captain thinks of it, it makes you look ridiculous." I muttered, combing out his hair and letting the still wet strands tangle between my fingers. "Before you know it, it will be longer then mine."

He didn't seen to find my teasing funny and sat quietly as I snipped and cut the hair that had grown long throughout the months. His almost silent whimpers made me laugh and when he glared at me through the mirror, I stuck my tongue out at him.

My fingers cut diligently and I wiped the orange strands off the collar of his shirt and onto the tarp covering the floor. I brush it out and nodded happily when they fell into place. He stood and patted off his pants before grabbing my shoulders and placing me in the chair.

He snipped quickly, his cuts sharp and precise. I watched the black clumps fall to the floor in a half crescent and when he brought his hand down to rest on my neck, I knew he was finished.

We both worked in silence. I packed the tarp up and took it out to the front stoop where I shook it out and had a nice conversation with the neighbor girl who was doing the same. Ichigo cleaned the sheers and swept up the hardwood floors before phoning my brother to tell him everything was fine.

We moved fluidly through the night routine like it wasn't all going to change on completion of that rocket. As we sat in bed with our backs pressed together, I slowed my breathing to hear his and he soon did the same, mimicking my actions.

My sigh was loud and then the turning gears and humming mothers lulled to a dull roar, I flipped over and pressed a splayed hand to his tense back muscles. They uncoiled at my touch and I let my palm soak in the heat he was radiating. My body scooted a bit close and I pressed my forehead to the dip between his shoulder blades before wrapping my arms around his slim waist.

He seemed to need the comfort as much as I, because he curled into a ball and clutched at my hand that rested on his abdomen. We would ride out this storm as we have with everything else, and our ships may drift apart or diverge, but there will always be an invisible tether, I think.

We drifted to sleep slowly, the steady pounding of our hearts seeming to echo around the room.

BTS

"Are the explosives ready?" A man asked, cloaked in the darkness the decrepit building offered. He tucked away his case of cigars before lifting the one placed in his fingers. The other man, a tall burly security guard nodded quickly. His shirt showed the marks of his sweat stains and his brow was dripping.

"Yes, I have them all loaded, just like you asked." The guard wrung his hands and smiled sheepishly at the hidden man. The only shapes he could make out were from the burning end of his expensive cigars. The glowing tip illuminated his delicate fingers and charming smile when he put it to his lips for a drag.

"Good, good. No loose ends? Does anyone know your location?" The shadow man asked, slowly blowing out and letting the thick white smoke curl around his cheekbones before drifting up and dissipating. He followed the trails with his eyes while waiting for the answer.

"I told my wife I was going to get donuts." He replied, beaming like a child. The shadow man nodded and pulled out something from the layers of his coat. The thing reflected the little light the moon gave off and when the guard leaned in for a better look, the gun went off and the silencer caused it to only sound like small rattle.

The guard clutched at his chest but fell into a heap on the side of the road. The shadow man tutted himself for the aim considering it would take a while for the poor man to die. He moved out of the shadows and the shot man shuffled backwards, trying to run from his approaching figure.

"You think you can run from me?" He laughed then his fingers shot out and dug into the bullet wound. The man flopped like a fish before his body when stiff and he started to choke on his own blood. A dribble trailed down his lips and he clutched helplessly at his chest to stop the steady flow of blood. "By this time next month, I will own this city."

The shadow man stepped from the shadows and started walking only looking back one to drop the butt of his cigar into the liquid covering the ground. The gasoline caught with ease and the slow trail of fire licked at the ground before catching the flailing guard.

His screams echoed in the night air and woman's screams accompanied those of the guard as he was slowly roasted alive.

Sōsuke Aizen brushed off his suit and made in the direction of the business district. He had a meeting with a little Kuchiki today. His cold smile made the air grow colder and the atmosphere go dark.

**This is the end. I can't put the needed thought and writing into this story so I'm stopping it here. Sorry for the impromptu ending and hope you don't hate me to much but let's face it, this story is going nowhere.**


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